


My Brother. My Own.

by Joan963z



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Numb3rs, The Sentinel
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-04-04 06:16:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14013993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joan963z/pseuds/Joan963z
Summary: The story takes place in Buffy-verse after the end of the TV series. The story is written in answer to a challenge by TimeVortex. I talked her into also being a co-writer. Xander is stolen as a toddler. His FBI brother Don wants to know what happened to him. The world is out of balance, too many demons, not enough Watchers to manage the Slayers. Spike comes back as a Sentinel to help Giles re-establish the Watchers Council.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> revelare is Latin for reveal.  
> claricito is Latin for call.
> 
> The memories Spike receives from Beacon are from the Runaway Guide Series.  
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I am only keeping the fandoms alive in our hearts.  
> _________________________________________________________________________________

It was a beautiful day and Margaret Eppes was taking her toddler twins to the playground. When she got there she took them out of the stroller and sat them in the toddler swings. She was only there about ten minutes when she heard an insect buzzing. It was odd to hear that sound in the city, It was the kind of sound you would hear in the mountains, sitting by a lake at night with a campfire burning. She was pushing the swings and the twins swung away. The next instant Alex was gone. Her first thought was that he fell out of the swing, but he wasn’t there on the ground. She screamed. She never thought of the weird insect sound. Her only thought was of her son and what had happened to him. 

@@@@@@ 

Don was six years old when his little eighteen month old brother Alex, Charlie’s twin, was kidnapped. It always hit him hard whenever it popped into his mind, unbidden. Not knowing if his missing little brother was alive or dead made his heart ache, but he knew that Alex was most likely dead, killed by a sadistic pedophile. 

He could remember when the twins were learning to walk. He would hold out his arms and his brother Alex would toddle to him. It was Alex that he had a closer bond to. Charlie was a bit shy, slower to laugh, but Alex would jump right in. Don could remember playing airplane with Alex’s spoon, coaching him to eat his peas, or sitting on the floor playing Rolly-Polly with a big red ball, or building block towers that Alex would knock down and laugh. Then, one day, he was just gone. 

When he got home from school and asked where Alex was his mother only hugged him and broke down in tears. He never got any real answer to his question so the six year old coped as best he could. Strange men came to the house, men dressed in suits. Don was always sent from the room and the strangers and his parents talked quietly in the living room. It was quite some time before he realized the strangers were police detectives. 

As the days and weeks passed Don’s Mom tried to put on a brave face, but Don could hear her crying. His father became frustrated in his grief and his inability to make things right. From time to time Don would ask his parents when Alex was coming home. The question only made his mother cry and his father would tell him to go play in his room. His broken hearted parents couldn’t bring themselves to talk about it to him. How could they explain to a six year old that his baby brother had been stolen. After a time Don knew he would never get an answer so he stopped asking. 

Fear invaded the six year olds life. The kind of fear that burrowed deep like a worm tunneling through his soul. His parents became overprotective and that scared him even more. He overheard their arguments and angry questions: Why was there no ransom demand? Was he still alive? It was a brutal way to learn Alex had been kidnapped. He was too young to know exactly what some of the strange words meant, but he did know that it was making his mom sad and his dad angry and he understood the overheard question: Was Alex still alive? He cried himself to sleep at night, alone in his bed, shivering with fear, a pillow over his head to drown out his parents arguments. His own behavior deteriorated. The once happy well adjusted child began to act out. The school called his home and gently and politely suggested Don needed to talk to a professional. It was another source of stress and disagreement between his mom and dad. Don’s behavior continued to deteriorate, so in the end he did see a professional counselor. That is when his parents found out their son knew about the kidnapping of his brother.

Over the next year, Charlie grew and learned. When Charlie was three he multiplied four digit numbers in his head. At first his parents thought it was Charlie playing, but Charlie kept doing it. Something nagged at Alan Epps so he got a calculator and checked. The Epps found they had a math prodigy to nurcher. That gave his parents something to distract them from their loss. They put all their focus onto their gifted child. Don’s physical needs were met but, as often happened when parents lose a child, Don’s emotional needs were forgotten. He learned to become independent and take care of himself. 

Don began playing with toy guns. Protecting himself from the bad guys. Bang! Bang! His mother heard the sound. She didn’t like it. That’s when his dad started taking him to Little League. For a little boy who thought of himself, more often than not, as invisible to his parents, playing baseball and having his Dad notice him was a joy. Don felt like baseball was his personal time out, a way to fill and forget the hole in his heart where Alex should be. It was something he was good at and it got his parents attention.

But under it all was the constant knowledge that their family was incomplete. It colored his life. He longed to fill the emptiness. After college he tried to continue self medicating when he was signed to AAA baseball. He was good at several positions, but he was never outstanding and never got any further then triple A. One day he realized he had to face the fact that being good, wasn’t good enough, he would never make it to the majors. The next day he signed up for the FBI entrance exam.

It was his longing to fill the hole that made Don decide he would become an FBI agent. Today he held the acceptance letter in his hand. Holding the letter and reading it brought him to the realization that if he was ever to get on with his life, meet a woman, and start a family he would have to face his personal demons. He made a pledge to himself, that he would find out what happened to his baby brother. 

 

@@@@@@

Watcher’s Council Building - Cleveland, Ohio

*******  
Willow and Dawn came rushing into Giles office. “I’ve figured it out.” Willow said. “My revelare spell came up with the Shanshu Prophecy, but the locator spells said he was still in the hellmouth.”

Giles took off his glasses an rubbed the bridge of his nose. “By him, I am assuming you mean Spike?”

“Yes. Spike,” Willow said. “I know how to get him out of The Hellmouth.”

“Willow, I can’t sanction this,” Giles said. “You remember the consequences that were set into motion when you brought back Buffy.”

“This is different,” Willow said. “He’s supposed to come back. Buffy, Faith, Kennedy and I have all had the dreams. Why would the Powers keep sending us the same message if he wasn’t meant to come back. Even the Shanshu Prophecy said he would come back human.” 

“Look,” Dawn Said, “I’ve translated the Prophecy, the one that Willow got when she did the revelare spell. It says that he will come back as a Watchman when we call him.” Dawn handed Giles the prophecy along with the translation. “See it’s right here,” She pointed out. 

“A Watcher,” Giles said. “Spike a Watcher. The Powers do have a sense of humor.” 

“It’s not the same spell I did to bring Buffy back, Giles,” Willow said. “It’s a simple claricito spell. It’s the amulet that’s protecting him.”

“Relax ladies,” Giles said. “You can do your spell. I’ve been meditating on what to do about our Watcher shortage. The answer I got, was if I call, they will come.”

Dawn jumped up and down then gave Giles a hug. “We have to tell Buffy and Xander.”

“We need six for the circle so I think we should ask Faith too,” Willow said.

“Faith is good,” Dawn agreed.

 

@@@@@@

The Hellmouth  
******

Spike could feel the Holy Light burn his body and he laughed as everything around him turned to a brilliant white. It seemed only a moment later when he felt a woosh, the white light was gone and he was floating in a dark void. A golden ball hovered in front of him. 

Spike had a feeling of Deja Vu when the golden ball began to talk.

“I’m here to send you onto your next life. However your assignment is a bit complicated this time. We are giving you the memories that you will need from another soul aspect, so that you will be able to fulfill your mission in this life.” A beam from the orb reached out and touched Spike on the forehead.

The memories rushed to the front of his mind. One overriding thought demanded attention. “Xander?” he asked. “Is Xander okay?”

“The memories you are experiencing right now, are from another soul aspect of yourself. Both of you are fine in that reality. We need to talk about the reality you are being sent to.”

“You’re Supervisor Beacon from the Department of Cosmic Intervention,” Spike said as he remembered. “I’m going to be a Sentinel.”

“Yes,” Supervisor Beacon said, “But I need to fill you in on your mission. The reality you’re being sent to is out of balance. All the Slayers have been activated but there are few Watchers. You will go back with all your metaphysical abilities, just like the Spike aspect you have memories of. But unlike that reality Sentinels are new here. Their abilities have been dormant for centuries. Now they are once more needed, the Sentinels and their Guides are to be the new Watchers. There is one other Sentinel and Guide you need to contact, they are Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg of Cascade, Washington. The Jim and Blair, of this reality, have opened their door to the metaphysical. Together the five of you will establish the new Watcher’s Council and bring the demon infestation under control before the world falls into darkness.”

“Five of us?” Spike asked.

“You and your soulmate Xander Harris along with the current Watcher Rupert Giles. He is not a Sentinel, but he will teach you what you need to know.”

Xander as his soul mate didn’t surprise Spike. He not only had the memories of the other Spike he also had the feelings. But Rupert Giles was another thing altogether. “You expect Rupert to train me to be a Watcher?” Spike asked.

“He is one of the Six who calls you.” Beacon said. “The portal is open, you must step through now.”

@@@@@@

Watchers Council

******

“Aren't we supposed to have candles,” Buffy asked. “We always have candles.”

“Not this time,” Willow said. “I think he’s going to just appear in front of us. We don’t want him getting burnt.”

“Just appear?” Xander said. “You’re turning a vampire into a living breathing human being. I don’t think ‘just appear’ is the right term.”

“I’m not turning him into a human,” Willow said. “The amulet did that. This is the magical equivalent of making a phone call and saying come home. Kinda like E.T., remember?”

“Can we get started,” Faith said. “I don’t want to miss the beginning of NCIS.”

Willow grimaced. “If you’re not serious about this, we’ll get someone else,” she said. “If anyone in the circle loses focus the spell won’t work.”

“I won’t lose focus,” Faith said. “I just want to get started.”

“Okay,” Willow said. “Everyone get in a circle and hold hands. Don’t let go until he’s back.”

Willow began chanting. A small shimmering blue disk appeared hovering in the center of the circle. Willow continued to chant and the disk grew to the size of a person, the smell of ozone filled the air. Everyone in the room heard a female voice clearly say, “The portal is open, you must step through now.” A living, breathing, human, Spike stepped through the portal into his new reality. The portal snapped closed behind him.

******

For a moment everyone just stood gawking and then Buffy broke the circle and ran forward pulling Spike into a hug. “Are you okay?” She asked. “It’s been years, but Willow and Dawn never stopped trying to get you back. I swear, we just figured it out today.”

“I’m fine Buffy. I’m just a little disoriented.” Spike said. “It didn’t seem like years to me.”

“Hey,” Dawn said. “I want a hug too.”

“Good to see you again, Niblet,” Spike said as he hugged Dawn. 

“We’ve been so worried,” Willow said. “My Locator Spell said you were in the Hellmouth. It wasn’t until Dawn translated the Shanshu Prophecy that we found out the amulet was protecting you. I hope it wasn’t awful for you to be stuck inside an amulet.”

“I didn’t notice,” Spike said. “I think that wherever I was there wasn’t any time. It was only an instant for me.” 

“We heard a voice,” Giles said. “You weren’t alone.” 

“That was Beacon,” Spike said. “She’s a supervisor from the Department of Cosmic Intervention. She sent me here because you need Watchers. Jim and I are Sentinels. She said this reality is out of balance. You're supposed to teach me to be a Watcher and then I can teach Jim and Blair. Blair is going to teach Xander to be a Guide.”

“What?” Xander interrupted. “Giles has been teaching me to be a Watcher. I don’t want to be a Guide. I’m glad you’re back Spike, but if the Powers think I’m going to abandon Giles and the slayers they’re wrong.”

“We’re not going to abandon them, Xan,” Spike said, “We need to do this or the demons could take over this reality. It’s out of balance. It needs Watchers to bring it back into balance.”

“Are we supposed to call this Jim person through a portal too?” Giles asked.

Spike’s stomach growled, “Sorry about that,” Spike said yawning. “Jim’s in Cascade, Washington.”

“It’s good to have you back Spike,” Faith said. “I’m out of here. The rest of you can argue to your heart’s content, but you really should give Spike something solid to eat,” She called over her shoulder as she left. “It’s been over two centuries since he’s had a home cooked meal.” 

“Faith is right,” Giles said. “We can discuss this in the morning. Xander, you take Spike to the kitchen and get him something to eat. He can sleep on a cot in your room for tonight. We’ll clean out a storeroom for him tomorrow.”

Xander sighed, but he didn’t argue about having a roomy forced on him. “Come with me, Spike.“ 

****** 

Spike followed Xander to the Kitchen. He wasn’t at all sure of what to say to him. He had two sets of memories. The memories of him in Sunnydale were clear and strong, but the other memories, the ones Beacon gave him were choppy and many of them were more than a bit foggy. It was the dichotomy of the memories that confused him. 

Beacon had said that Xander was his soulmate. Of course Spike knew Xander was a demon magnet, but he also knew that going after Xander back in Sunnydale would have gotten him staked by Buffy. Plus Xander had shown no interest in him at all during the years Spike knew him. So now what? How was he supposed to tell Xander he was his soulmate? It would take time. No point trying to rush things. He would be friendly and wait for an opportunity to tell Xander his feelings. If Beacon was right Xander should develop feelings for him too.

“Is peanut butter and jelly okay?” Xander asked.

“What?” Spike asked as he came out of his thoughts.

“A PB and J sandwich,” Xander said. “It’s a classic and besides there aren't any leftovers from supper. There never are. You know how the slayers eat.”

“Sure, that will be fine. Where are we?” Spike asked. “It’s kind of cold in here.”

“Cleveland, Ohio. There’s a Hellmouth here, Giles had a list from the old Council of demon hotspots that could become possible Hellmouths if the Sunnydale one ever closed. Cleveland was the most active one on the list, so we ended up here,” Xander told him. “Since we got here we’ve kept it from opening three times in almost five years.”

“I guess things never change,” Spike said. 

“Well we have a lot more slayers now.” Xander said, “and a lot fewer Watchers.”

“As I remember the Watchers from the old Council were a pain in the ass. Didn’t they fire Giles once?”

“That was then, this is now,” Xander said as he placed a sandwich in front of Spike. “I make a pretty good cup of tea if you want one. It’ll help warm you up.”

“Sounds good,” he said as he picked up half the sandwich and looked at it. 

“You just bite it and chew.” Xander said as he filled the tea kettle and put it on the stove. “Crazy Powers, they give you memories of another life but don’t give you memories of how to eat solid food.”

“I remember how to eat,” Spike said. “It’s just that this is the first time you’ve made me a PB and J.”

“Well you were a vampire,” Xander said. “Sandwiches weren’t on the menu back then. Although I do remember Giles sending me to the market to buy Weetabix. He said you put it in your blood.”

Spike laughed and was about to say something when the kettle began whistling. He watched as Xander poured the hot water over the tea bag. He was different now, grown into a man. He could see the sculptured muscle of his arm. In fact Xander looked more physically fit all over. He moved differently too, more like a fighter. “You’ve been working out with the slayers.” Spike said when he saw Xander notice him looking. 

“That and fixing all the broken stuff around here,” Xander said. “You should finish eating. I’ve got to get a cot for you out of the closet and it’s probably buried.” Xander started to leave the kitchen.

“Pet, don’t go.” The words came out of Spike’s mouth before he could stop them. 

But they did stop Xander in his tracks. “Pet?” he said as he turned around to look at Spike.

Spike was looking down at his tea. “I’m sorry, Harris, I don’t know where that came from.”

“Like fucking hell, you don’t know where it came from,” Xander said. “Don’t lie to me Spike. That is the first time this evening you called me Harris. You always called me Harris or Whelp in Sunnydale. Now all of a sudden you’re calling me Xan, Xander, and now Pet. You’ve been hiding something since you got back. I can feel it.”

“You’re an empath,” Spike said. “Before, in Sunnydale I was a vampire. You couldn’t read me. Remember when Buffy got the aspect of the demon that allowed her to read minds? She couldn't read Angel’s mind because he had no brain waves, empathy is similar only emotions instead of thoughts.”

“How did you know about that?” Xander asked. "I never told anyone."

“Beacon. She gave me a general background on the highlights of this reality and she told me you were going to be my Guide. All Guide’s are strong empaths.”

“You’re trying to change the subject, you want me to ask about being a Guide,” Xander said. “You’re trying to distract me because you think I’m still the scared kid that plays the clown. You think I can’t stand the truth. I am so damn sick of people lying to me.”

“I just want to give you space,” Spike said. “Dumping everything on you less than an hour after I get here isn’t the right thing to do.”

“Well, I’m an adult now,” Xander said, “I’ll level with you if you level with me. Deal?”

“Xan…” Spike sighed, “Okay, deal.” He wasn’t sure what all he would tell Xander, but he did know he would have to tell him some of the truth.

“Back in Sunnydale,” Xander began. “After you got the chip, you began to change. You still did some rotten stuff. But you did some good stuff too. Buffy said it was because you just liked killing things. I saw it differently and told her so. Why would a soulless evil thing let itself be nearly beaten to death rather than give Glory Dawn's name. You fought with us after Buffy died. I lost count of how many times you saved our lives. There was the time the demon bikers came to town, you kept Dawn safe. Then you went and fought in the demon trials to get your soul back. Why would a vampire willingly do that? I saw how broken up you were when you found out the First used you to kill all those people. It hurt you, right down to your soul, it hurt you. You didn’t hesitate when Buffy asked you to wear the amulet. You didn’t know what would happen...You just did it to save the world. We were on the bus racing away from the sink hole and when we crossed the town line we stopped and got out. The whole town had fallen in and you were still in there. I just stood there looking, losing you hurt so bad. I could hardly breathe that's how much it hurt. Then I heard this voice. It was like hearing someone else's thoughts inside my head. It asked me a question. It asked me if I wanted to be your soulmate. I said yes. Then today I heard that voice again. It told you to step through the portal.”

Spike listened. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Xander had agreed to be his soulmate. He figured the best thing to do was to tell him the whole truth, at least as much as he could remember. “In this other life, I’m a Sentinel. It’s a man who has enhanced senses, a lot like a vampires senses. Sentinel’s need Guides, Like I said before all Guides are empaths, they keep Sentinels in balance. The Sentinels have a saying, a Guide is life, for them it’s an undeniable truth, nothing is more precious to a Sentinel than his Guide. In that life you’re my Guide and my soulmate. We’re in love. We sleep together, Xander. That’s what I didn’t want to tell you. I just thought it would be too much if I just came right out and told you. I wanted to give you a chance to develop feelings for me. You went through hell in that life. You say I rescued you, but you rescued me. I was adrift. You were hurting, some very bad people did some very bad things to you. But you took the time to comfort another Guide that was hurting. You don’t stop, Pet, you never stop caring about people. You’re a beautiful man there and you’re a beautiful man here and I love you.”

“I don’t think we’re going to need the cot tonight.” Xander said. “Or to clean out the storeroom tomorrow.”

“Are you sure Pet?” Spike asked.

“I’ve had an ache in my soul for five years,” Xander said. “Tonight when you walked through that portal the ache went away. I felt like I could finally breathe again. I’m sure.”

End chapter


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because this story is a three way crossover we have had to take artistic license with the TV timelines. This story takes place in an alternate Buffy-verse. 
> 
> ********************************************************************************************************************

Spike followed Xander down the hall, around a corner and up the stairs. The house was large, an old mansion really. A huge drafty place always in need of repair, complete with creaky floors, windows that rattled, and a furnace that had seen better days. An attempt had been made to make the dark windowless halls more open by painting them bright cheerful colors and there were framed posters of popular singers and boy bands hung on the walls. The kind of thing that young girls would swoon over. The effort was not a total loss, but Spike did wonder how many of the posters were hiding cracked walls, chipped paint, or out right holes. The house wasn’t perfect by any measure, but it did have rooms that could be used to house the New Watchers Council, plenty of land for slayer training, and lots of bedrooms and perhaps more importantly, multiple bathrooms, not enough if you asked the Slayers, but it was the best Giles could do with the money he had.

Xander opened the door to his bedroom. Spike took a step to follow him in and then stopped without crossing the threshold. He stood very still as if listening to something.

“Don’t tell me that Sentinel’s need to be invited in?” Xander asked. 

“No, it’s not that,” Spike said. “I just got hit with a bunch of memories.” Memories of a terrified Xander as he held him in his arms and comforted him.

Xander had no doubt that they were memories of the dungeon that was his parents basement. “I know the room isn’t much,” Xander said. “But hey, it beats my parent’s basement and maybe even your crypt.”

Spike laughed and stepped over the threshold. “Definitely beats the crypt, Luv. Besides it’s not the room, it’s who’s in it.” 

Xander closed the door behind him and took Spike’s hand. “What the…” he said with a sharp intake of breath as, simultaneously, a very pleasant feeling climbed up his arm and raced to his cock.

“I’m a Sentinel, you’re a Guide, that sensation is normal for us.” Spike told him. “I’m not really sure why. I remember taking classes in Guide care during Sentinel training. They said it could be biochemical with a metaphysical component.”

“Classes in Guide care, humm. Um did they mention the horny factor?” Xander asked looking down at his tented pants.

“It came up, no pun intended,” Spike said with an admiring look at Xander’s tent.

“Well apparently it doesn’t work the same for you,” Xander said with a pointed look at Spike’s lack of tenting. Do you feel anything at all?”

“I feel a warm sensation, but the horny factor is a little different for a Sentinel. Sentinels need to engage all five senses. I only have sight, sound, scent and touch. As soon as I taste you…”

“You have to bite me before we can have sex?’ Xander asked.

“Not bite. At least not enough to break the skin, nibble a little is all. It helps me to find your erogenous zones and pattern them. Guide’s find it very stimulating.” Spike sighed trying to figure out the best way to tell Xander he had a Guide Gland. He decided the best thing to do is to just dive right in and tell him. “There’s one other reason. Guide’s have an extra gland, right next to their thyroid gland, Sentinels and non-guides don’t have it. It gives off pheromones that let Sentinels identify who is a Guide. When we bond with a Guide we suckle the gland to taste the pheromones and endorphens. We crave them. We need them. Guides keep Sentinel’s calm when they’re stressed by offering them their neck to suckle. Right now your guide gland is kind of hibernating. It’s giving off pheromones but that's all. When I stimulate it, it will wake up, it gives off dopamine and serotonin. They’re neurotransmitters that will open our minds to our bond. Sentinel’s can taste the subtle flavors. We can identify our Guide by taste alone.”

“That’s interesting, Spike, but I’m already open to this. I don’t need any...biochemical help.”

“I know you feel that way Luv,” Spike said. “I wouldn’t force this on you. No decent Sentinel would. But you need to know this isn’t just sex. If we do this...When we do this we will bond and Sentinel’s bond for life. I don’t know how to explain what the bond is like. We’ll be part of each other, but at the same time you’ll still be you and I’ll still be me. It doesn’t interfere with who we are, it enhances it.”

“Spike, I don’t think you understand how much I need this,” Xander said. “When you came through the portal, I thought, give him time, don’t rush, you’ll spoil it. But then you called me Pet, and it was like something exploded inside me. Everything changed. I could no more leave that room without you, than I could start breathing water. I don’t just want this, Spike. I need it, and if it’s all the same to you, I need it now.”

“It’s called Bond Crave,” Spike said smiling. “Guides get it when they meet a compatible Sentinel.” He walked Xander to the bed and sat him down. Then he crouched down and removed Xander's shoes and socks lifting each foot to kiss his toes. Xander gave a soft moan and reached out tangling his fingers in Spike’s thick hair. Spike reached up and took Xander by the wrists removing Xander’s hands from his hair, he kissed each palm and then stood up. “Your hurting Xan,” Spike said as he unbuttoned Xander’s shirt. “I need to take care of that.” Spike took off Xander’s shirt and pulled his t-shirt over his head. 

“Spike...I.”

“Shhhhh.” Spike said laying a finger over Xander lips. “I have to do this Luv. Just lay back and enjoy.” Spike gave Xander a gentle push back onto the bed, then he undid Xander’s pants and pulled them off dropping them onto the floor with his other clothes. He quickly undressed himself and climbed onto the bed beside Xander. He stroked his fingers through Xander’s hair as he spoke. “I’m not going to fully claim you now. I’m just going to take care of you. It’s not that I don’t want to, I do. But you’re a virgin to this, so for now I’m only going to taste. We will bond when we can take our time.” Spike kissed Xander on the lips, brushing his lips with his tongue. He reached down and began stroking Xander’s aching cock. Xander gave a soft moan then opened his mouth and brushed the tip of his tongue against Spike’s.

Spike broke away and kissed his way down Xander’s torso. He stopped to run his tongue once around Xander’s belly button and then moved on to lick the precome from his cock. Xander thrust upward and moaned his pleasure. Spike captured the tip of the tall hard member in his mouth and slid his lips over its length. He rolled his tongue as he pulled up and slid back down. 

Xander couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Spike’s hair and thrust upward. “Don’t tease me!” he demanded.

Spike was only too happy to comply. He deep throated Xander and began to purr. 

The vibrations along his shaft were more than enough to push Xander over the threshold and into orgasm. “Spike!” Xander cried as he tried to pull Spike’s head away, but Spike continued to purr and stroke his cock with his lips until Xander’s orgasm ebbed.

Spike moved up and laid down beside Xander hugging his soul mate to him and carding his fingers through his hair.

“That was...awesome.” Xander said with a contented sigh. “But what about you? I mean that was kind of non-mutual.”

“I’m okay for now.” Spike said with a kiss to the tip of Xander's nose. “You needed relief. Just hold me and rest. Bonding takes a lot of time, lots of foreplay. That will take the edge off for you.”

“We don’t have a bond yet?” Xander asked with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

“Don’t worry Luv,” Spike said, “Wild horses couldn’t take me away from you, you’re my soulmate.”

@@@@@@

Cascade, Washington  
*******

The Sentinel and Guide came out of their meditation sitting cross legged on the floor. They stared at each other for a moment, neither understood what had just happened. They had been together a year and for the past three months had been investigating the metaphysical side of the Sentinel/Guide bond. They had contacted a Shaman Spirit Guide called Incacha but tonight something strange had happened.

“What the hell was that?” Jim asked

“I believe it was a hyena,” Blair said as he stood up and went to his bookcase to retrieve a book on Animal Spirit Guides that they had purchased together.

“Yeah, Chief,” Jim said. “I know a Hyena when I see one, but this one had eyes that glowed a weird color and it talked to us. That’s the first time an animal has talked to us.”

Blair sat on the loveseat and opened the book. Jim came and sat down beside him. “Your Spirit Guide is a Jaguar and mine is a Wolf. Those are the only Animals that have come to us before now. That was a Hyena and there was a Cougar behind it pacing. They have to be someone else's Spirit Guides. That means there is another Sentinel and Guide pair somewhere. Look this is interesting,” Blair said. “The Hyena spirit rarely chooses to become a Spirit Guide. The book says it tests the human and will only choose the human it deems worthy.”

“How would a Spirit Guide test a human?” Jim asked.

“The book doesn’t say. According to this there is a tribe in Africa that claims there is a rare subspecies of hyena that can speak and possess a human. The humans don’t always survive the possession.”

“Well, that doesn’t fill me with confidence. It told us the teachers we are looking for will come, be patient. We just got told to be patient; by a wild animal.”

“Not a wild animal,” Blair said. “An Animal Spirit Guide.”

“Same difference from my point of view,” Jim said. “Besides what the hell kind of teacher is coming, one possessed by a Hyena?”

“I doubt that our teacher will be possessed. It’s more likely that the possession is the test. Survive and you get a Hyena for your Animal Spirit Guide. Apparently this other Sentinel and Guide know about us and they are coming to be our teachers. I wonder if they’re from some tribal culture? That would make the most sense,” Blair said. “Tribal cultures pass down their knowledge verbally through stories and myths. It’s knowledge we won’t find in a book.”

“How could a tribal culture know about us?” Jim asked. “How could anyone know about us?”

“If they’re tribal they’d be into the metaphysical too,” Blair said. “I don’t know any other way they could have found out about us. But anyway, I don’t think they are coming very soon. The Hyena told us to be patient.”

“The next time we talk to Incacha we should ask.” Jim said. 

@@@@@@@

Eppes Family Home  
******

Alan answered the knocking at the door. It was Larry with a bottle of white wine.

“Come on in Larry,” Alan said. “Don just called he’s running a little late. Charlie’s in the garage lost in a math problem. Do you want to have a game of chess while we wait?”

“Sure.” Larry said. “It’s just the four of us today?”

Alan got the chess set and sat down at the table. “Yeah, I think Margaret would have wanted it that way. Family…”

“Yes, she was big on family,” Larry said. “She wanted you and the boys to be close.”

“I remember her going to Don’s little league games, how she would cheer for him. We always got ice cream on the way home. Ice cream to celebrate a win, or ice cream for consolation. She was all about making everyone she came into contact with feel better.” 

“When she brought Charlie to Princeton and I was his faculty contact, she and I would talk about anything and everything. You, Don, Charlie, your family. Even that pain in her heart, the hole in her life that never went away.”

“I’m glad she had you to talk to. It was too raw for me. We had our problems because of it. I didn't want to talk about it, in the end there was never any new information about what happened. I feel like I let her down. I could be there for her for anything else; Charlie’s math, Don’s minor league baseball and joining the FBI, even for the cancer. But not that.”

“You were hurting too, Alan. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent. She told me that for awhile the police thought she did something to Alexander.”

“I don’t think I want to talk about this, Larry. No offense but… It still hurts too much.”

“I understand. But you should talk about it at some point. Have you ever seen a professional?”

“It’s your move, Larry.” Alan had no intention of answering that question. It was too personal even over twenty-five years later. 

Alan turned and looked out the window, when he heard Don’s car pull into the drive and a door slam soon after.

“Knock, knock. I bring beer. Hey, Larry,” Don called out as he came in the door.

“Your brother is still in the garage. Do you think you can coach him out with a beer, while I put the steaks on the grill?” Alan asked.

“Sure,” Don grumbled. “Give me the hard job. I thought this was going to be a kick back in the fresh air and sunshine and relax barbecue.”

******

“Hey Charlie,” Don called. “There be beer! But you can't have any until you come out in the yard with the rest of us.”

“Just give me five more minutes, I’ve almost got this problem solved,” Charlie said. 

“Come on Chuck. Larry’s already here. Dad’s putting the steak on the grill as we speak.”

“He’s just putting it on, good. That means I have a few minutes,”

“No Charlie, you don’t. This is for mom. So get out of the damn garage. This is a family day and we have to have our traditional toast to mom before the steaks burn.”

Charlie turned and looked at his brother. “Are you still pissed about the garage? I thought you got over that.”

“Yeah Charlie, I’m still fucking pissed! Mom’s dead. This is our day to remember her and you’re still stuck in this damn garage!”

“You should talk, Mr. I’m Running A Little Late.”

Larry popped his head in the garage door. “Is everything all right in here? We heard raised voices. Alan’s got the meat on the grill.”

Charlie knew there was no point of continuing the argument. The best thing to do was to go have a beer. He reluctantly put down his chalk and followed Larry out not looking at his brother. 

******

“Larry,” Alan said. “Your rice is on the stove in the house and there’s roasted cauliflower for you in the oven. I have a boneless chicken breast on the grill as well.”

“Thank you Alan, you take such good care of me.” Larry said as he went into the house to get his white food.

“What’s with the glum faces?” Alan asked his sons. “I heard you two arguing. This isn’t what your mother would have wanted. Whatever it is, get over it… Now. “

“Larry, are you planning on going to Arizona next month to see the solar eclipse?” Don asked when he saw his Dutch Uncle return from the kitchen. He really couldn’t think of anything else to say. Charlie was all math all the time and Dad...well he and Dad never seemed to be able to talk about anything other than sports. It’s a good thing that Larry was such a constant in their lives.They would sit and stare at each other all the time otherwise.

“I’m getting a group together. Not much fun going alone. We should have a good view. It doesn’t get cloudy in Arizona. I have a reservation at a camping sight northwest of Phoenix near Wickenburg. Arizona is going all out to attract tourists.” 

“Okay everybody,” Alan called. “Let’s get this show on the road.” Alan picked up his beer. “Pour your wine Larry, Don and Charlie get your beers.” Alan watched as everyone did as requested and then he began their yearly ritual for his late wife’s birthday. “This year the topic is my favorite memory. My favorite memory of Margaret was the day I asked her to marry me. I was so nervous, I was sick to my stomach but I knew that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Here’s to the love of my life. Happy birthday Margaret.”

The four men lift their drinks in a toast.

“Larry, you’re next,” Alan told him.

“I don’t have one favorite memory,” Larry began. “What I remember most is her warmth and unconditional acceptance of all my eccentricities. She was my friend. The word doesn’t seem, adequate, but it’s the only one I have so here’s to Margaret, my friend. I miss you deeply Margaret.”

The four men toasted Margaret.

“Don, your turn,” Alan said.

“What can I say, she was my Mom. I guess my favorite memory is her voice coming from the stands at Little League. She never wavered. She was there and that meant something to me. Here’s to you Mom, happy birthday. I love you.”

The four men raised their drinks and once more toasted Margaret.

“Okay Charlie, your the last up. Make it count.” Alan said.

“My favorite memories are of the time we spent at Princeton. It was just her and me...and occasionally Larry,” Charlie laughed. “I remember my first day, I was barely fourteen, everyone stared. She smiled and introduced me to everyone I needed to know. I don’t know what I would have done without her there. Thanks Mom, you were the best.”

For the fourth time that day the group raised their drinks in a toast to Margaret.

“Margaret was there for us all in any way we needed and supported us,” Alan said.

“I can remember when you and mom told me she was pregnant and I was going to be a big brother. At the time it just blew my mind. I had so much fun helping with Charlie and…” Don trailed off, he couldn’t bring himself to say more. He took a drink of his beer and looked at his dad.

Alan understood the pain he saw in his oldest son’s eyes. He knew it was reflected in his own. He sighed and did what he always did; he pretended all was right with the world. It wasn’t right, it never would be right, but he was the head of the family, the Dad. So he made himself say the words and quickly spoke into the silence of Don’s statement “Okay then, let’s eat.”.

 

@@@@@@

Cleveland, Oh - 42 minutes later  
******

Spike spooned naked against Xander’s back listening to his heartbeat and his breathing. He took a deep breath and sighed in contentment. This, right this moment, this was bliss. Spike’s tongue flicked out to lick at Xander’s guide gland. Xander moaned and pushed back trying to cuddle in even closer. 

“Are you awake Xan?” Spike whispered. 

“MMMM,” Xander answered and turned in Spike’s arms. “I think we need to get a bigger bed.”

“This will do for now. Xan, I need to Bond.”

“Yeah, I can feel the woody pressing against my stomach. Very impressive by the way.”

“So are you Luv,” Spike said with a kiss to the tip of Xander’s nose. “Xan I need to pattern you and I need you to be passive while I do it.”

“Pattern?”

“A Sentinel commits his Guide’s entire body to memory with all five senses. It takes some time and I’m going to get lost in what I’m doing. If you try to touch me I’ll mistake it as resistance. Once I’m lost in the Bond Thrall all that I’ll want to do is complete the bond.”

“I’m not going to resist you, Spike. You know that.”

“I know that Xan, but… Bloody hell, maybe I should just tell you.”

“Spike there’s nothing that you can tell me that will scare me off, so just tell me.”

“It’s something the Cosmic Intervention Supervisor, Beacon, told me. You know how Slayers came to be. Men gave a girl demon abilities.They brought darkness to the light. The men became the first Watchers. But there was another factor, the women. They believed that to beat back the darkness you need to bring in the light. They ensouled vampires and made the first Sentinels. The women became the first Guides.”

“But there’s only two, you and Angel.”

“Now yes, but millennia ago, there were more. I was told that the Sentinel gene has been dormant here for centuries. Now, in this reality, it’s waking up again. There are realities where it never went dormant, realities where there are no slayers.”

“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this. I already know you were a vampire.”

“When an ensouled vampire dies he’s given a choice. He can meld with his demon and become a human Sentinel and move on to a different reality. There is a progression of realities a Sentinel lives through. Each lifetime takes him further and further from his vampire roots. I am still influenced by the demon part of me. Sentinel’s discipline disobedient Guides by renewing their Bond.”

“So are you saying that if I don’t do everything you say you’re going to have sex with me or are you saying you’ll rape me?”

“We’re going to be Sentinel and Guide. That means we’ll have a physical, emotional, and metaphysical bond. Sentinels don’t rape their Guides. There are rules for both of us. One that will result in a Sentinel disciplining his Guide is interrupting a Sentinel in a Bonding Thrall. Another is refusing to do something that is intended to keep the Guide safe.”

“So do I ever get to discipline you?”

Spike laughed out loud. “That’s what Guides are for. Sentinel’s can go insane if they don’t have a Guide. The Xander in the other reality would poke Jim in the chest and call him a pompous ass.”

“You talk about them like you know them.”

“With the memories I have of them they’re like old friends. I just don’t see them any more. But I need to know are you okay with me having melded with a demon?”

“Hay, I live with a bunch of woman that have demon abilities. I’m still around so, no, I don’t have a problem. But I do want to know, do I ever get to pleasure you?”

Spike ran his fingers through Xander’s hair and looked him in the eye. “You pleasure me just by being you.”

“That’s not what I mean, Spike. You wouldn’t let me touch you earlier and now you tell me I have to be passive.”

“Not forever. Once we bond I’ll know what your needs are. I promise you I’ll meet your needs. But right now I need you to be passive. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, but kiss me first.” 

“First we need to get some lube. Do you have any?

“In the bedside table drawer.”

Spike retrieved the lube and put it within reach then he pulled Xander into a kiss. Xander opened his mouth sucking in his lovers tongue. Spike continued the kiss until he needed to breathe than he pulled away and began licking Xander's face and sucking at his earlobes. Xander closed his eye and laid still as Spike worked his way down Xander’s body. At Xander’s right shoulder he licked his way down Xander’s arm to his hand. He sucked Xander’s thumb and each finger into his mouth. Spike worked his way up to Xander’s arm pit where he nuzzled, licked, and sniffed.”

“Tickles,” Xander told him as he clutched the sheets to keep from pulling Spike’s head away.

Spike stopped immediately and licked his way over to Xander’s nipple. He nipped and sucked at his right nipple as he fingered his left nipple. The pleasurable sensations ran through Xander’s body and he moaned. Spike moved over to Xander’s left arm and patterned down and up his arm then he began licking across his chest. Each contour of each muscle was committed to the Sentinels memory. Skipping Xander’s cock, Spike worked his way down the right leg nibbling and teasing each toe before moving over to his left foot and licking his way up the left leg. 

Spike rolled Xander over and once again starting at his shoulders patterning Xander’s back. When he came to Xander’s cheeks he nibbled and licked and sucked looking for the areas that gave Xander the most pleasure, then spread Xander’s cheeks and licked the length of his sensitive crack. 

Xander buried his face in his pillow, he held on tight and repeated, “Spike, Spike, Spike,” in rapid succession. 

Spike rolled Xander onto his back and put his Guide’s legs onto his shoulders. He bent forward and licked at the sensitive perineum, the smooth patch of skin behind his balls. Xander rolled his head and moaned as he clutched the sheet in his fists. Spike lifted his head and pulled one of Xander’s jewels into his mouth and rolled it over his tongue. Xander gasped and gave a squeaky moan. Spike let the ball gently plop from his mouth. He took it’s twin into his mouth and repeated the exploration of the orb. Xander started panting and whispering ‘Spike’ between each breath. Spike let the orb go and took Xander's legs off of his shoulders.He grabbed the lube and put a large dollop of lube on his hand and took Xander’s hard cock in his hand. Spike licked the precome from the tip and then spread the lube over its length. Spike took another dollop of lube and spread it on his own cock and then laid down on top of Xander making sure their cocks touched. Spike nuzzled Xander's neck looking for the exact location of his guide gland. He found the nickel sized gland and sucked it and bit down gently.

Suddenly Xander’s mind was flooded with dopamine and serotonin. Xander could feel the presence of Spike in a way he never had before. 

“Hold me, Luv,” Spike whispered into his ear. 

Xander wrapped his arms around Spike. He bent his knees planting his feet flat on the bed and began thrusting upward.

Spike moved with him as he continued to suckle Xander’s neck. Each stroke of their bodies became a drumbeat as Xander’s mind continued to open to the bond. Spike dove in and the two energies began to dance.

Xander didn’t notice when his heart skipped a beat and began beating in Sync to Spike’s, but then suddenly Xander gasped and held his breath for a moment. When he began breathing again he was in perfect bio-sync with Spike. 

“My own,” Spike called as their orgasms took over their bodies.

“Yours,” Xander answered.

The pair lay silent for a moment then they rolled onto their sides. Xander sighed in contentment as he lay held in Spike’s arms. “I can feel you,” Xander said. “I can feel how much you love me. I didn’t expect that. I used to feel so alone. Ever since I could remember I’ve felt like something was missing in my life. I don’t feel that anymore.”

“There was no way to prepare you for the bond. You just have to experience it.”

“Can you feel how much I love you?” Xander asked.

“I feel it, Luv, We’re together now, You’ll never be alone again.


	3. Chapter 3

Watchers Council  
Three Months Later  
******

Giles stood at the edge of the practice ring watching Spike and Xander train the Slayers. He had had his personal doubts when Willow had told him Spike was coming back as a Watcher, but he knew better than to go against the powers when they made it so very clear what they wanted. He had expected it to be difficult training Spike. He was wrong. Spike had a classic Victorian college education, was fluent in Latin, had a great deal more than a passive knowledge of ancient and modern Greek. He also spoke a few demon languages and was personally familiar with many species of demons. It was quite a surprise when Spike had come bursting into his office and slammed a book down on his desk.

“What the bloody hell is this Rupert?” Spike said none too gently. “You’re going to get our Slayers killed with this kind of miss information.”

The miss information aside, that was easily corrected, but what wasn’t so easily attained was a person's attitude. Spike had referred to the Slayers as **our Slayers**. He always knew that if Spike was fighting at their side he would do everything he could to keep them alive. But there was a big difference between fighting beside them and taking responsibility when a Watcher had to send Slayers out to fight alone. That was the moment when he knew Spike was a Watcher. 

In the beginning Spike had insisted that he was a warrior, a Sentinel to be exact, and Xander was the Watcher. He certainly didn’t mind learning what Rupert and, for that matter Xander, wanted him to learn, but he made it clear that he and Xander would not be separated. It was a shock to learn that Spike had Claimed Xander as his own.

“Your own?” Giles asked. “Like a vampire Claiming a human?”

“No Rupert,” Spike said as Xander took Spike’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “Like a Sentinel Claiming his Guide. We’re partners first, as far as keeping me in mental and emotional balance, Xander’s the boss.”

That incident was one of the things that made Giles wonder if Xander could become a Watcher. Claiming had too many long held bad connotations for him to be comfortable with it. Once again he found his long held thoughts to be wrong. He had carefully observed the pair over the last three months. What he saw was that Xander was thriving and happy in a way he had never been before. While he never saw Xander being the boss per say, he never saw Spike being the boss either. They appeared to work together as true partners. 

There were a few things that took some getting used to; Spike tasted all of Xander’s food before he ate it and then there was the weird way that Xander glowed some mornings. Spike insisted that it was a normal state for a Guide after renewing the bond with his Sentinel. The glow assured the Sentinel that the Guide was physically and emotionally healthy and still centered in their Bond. 

Of course there were also things that Giles was more than happy to get used to, and if truth be told, grateful for. Spike was an extraordinarily good cook and willing to teach their current cooks what he knew. Giles had asked Spike how, why, and when he had learned to cook in the past two hundred years. Spike smiled and said it was part of the memories from his other Sentinel life that the Powers had thought he would need. Another thing he was grateful for was that Spike was very good at training the Slayers and the Slayers had taken to Spike. He demanded they not hold back in training. There were some days that Spike was bloodied and badly bruised. Giles had been concerned more than once, but by morning Spike was always up without a trace of the previous day’s injuries. Giles asked why he took the beatings, why he demanded it of the Slayers?

Spike tilted his head and looked at him for a moment, “Because Rupert,” he said, “ninety percent of being a Slayer is confidence. They need to know how far they can go. One little doubt in themselves and a vampire will sense it, take advantage of it, and the Slayer will die.” Giles took that statement as an undeniable truth. If anyone would know, it was Spike. As a vampire he had killed two Slayers.

Graduation day had arrived. There was no more left to teach. Spike was a Watcher, and now so was Xander. They were both ready. Spike had said he had to leave for Cascade soon. Giles never thought he’d say such a thing about Spike, but he was going to miss him, Xander too. The boy now grown to a man was like a son to him. Now it was time to send him from the nest and out into the world. It was both a dread and a triumph, for Rupert Giles had succeeded in doing what every good parent wanted to do, raise his child up better than himself. He had made Xander into a better Watcher than he himself could ever be.

 

@@@@@@

Counselor’s Office  
Los Angeles  
******

Don had steeled himself to come for counseling. It was the case he was working on that had brought things to a head. A man walking his dog off the trail found a body, or more accurately the dog found it. The body was of a child and DNA identified him as Henry Mullen three years old when abducted from Salem, Oregon. The child had been taken across state lines and that put it squarely in the purview of the FBI. The area was searched for evidence and another body was found. The FBI called for cadaver dogs to search the rest of the area and three more bodies of preschool aged boys in various stages of decomposition were discovered. Don was there while the dogs searched and that’s how he came to see the boy with dark curly hair. According to the Medical Examiner he was the newest kill and he was the one they would get the most evidence from. Don had to read the coroner's report and look at the pictures. It couldn’t be avoided. He was, after all, the supervisor in charge of the case.

The stress built, he had trouble sleeping and when he did sleep he saw the dead boy in the shallow grave, but the face belonged to Alex. This kind of case was never easy for any agent. But it was particularly hard on Don. All the feelings about Alex came flooding back. When he snapped at Megan he knew he had gone too far and decided it was time for him to face his demons.

 

*******

Don finished telling Dr. Bradford about the abduction of his little brother and the effect the current case was having on him.

“That had to have been a very difficult time for a six year old boy,” the doctor said

“I acted out for awhile. My parents sent me for counseling. Then there was baseball. Looking back I used it to self medicate.”

“Sports are an escape for many boys.”

“It wasn’t just as a kid. I got a scholarship to college and was drafted into the Stockton Rangers as a utility player. I made it into triple-A ball, but I finally had to admit to myself I wasn’t good enough for the Majors. I joined the FBI because I wanted to find out what happened to my brother Alex. I promised myself I would. Seeing that boy in the grave reminded me that I haven’t done that.”

“So you’re angry with yourself for not keeping the promise?”

“I suppose I am,” Don said taking an honest look at himself. “Is that why I snapped at Megan, misplaced anger?”

“You tell me.”

“I shouldn’t be angry with myself, I did try. There were just no leads to follow, no way to find out what happened to Alex.”

“Have you considered that the anger at yourself is what’s misplaced? You were six years old when your brother was taken. The detectives at the time couldn’t find any leads. The case is cold. Why do you hold yourself to an unattainable standard?”

“I'm the big brother it's my job to look after my brothers, to protect them. Alex was taken and I can’t find out what happened to him. What if he is alive? It has happened. Some pedophiles do keep the children. What if he’s dead, left in a shallow grave for animals to...”

“I repeat Don, you were Six years old and you weren’t even there when Alex was taken. You were at school. You could not have stopped it. It's not your fault. Children always blame themselves. You're not a child anymore. If you continue down this road of self blame you’ll never have the life you promised yourself you’d have. A life you said included a wife and kids.”

Dr. Bradford took a deep breath. He decided it was time to change direction, “Don, what else do you remember about Alex? Did it seem like he and Charlie were as close as most twins? I know there was five years between you and the twins. Did you three play together?”

“I remember that Alex and Charlie had a little different personalities. Alex would jump right into things and Charlie would hang back and watch. You could see him analyzing everything. Alex was more spontaneous. He would deal with whatever happened. I remember when they were learning to walk. I would open my arms and call to Alex and he would come right away, but I had to really coax Charlie.

“We played rolly polly with a big red ball. I would count to ten out loud as I rolled the ball. They were about a year old when Charlie started counting with me, Alex would repeat what I said. But the weird thing is that sometimes I’d make a mistake on purpose. Alex would laugh but Charlie would correct me. They both knew I made the mistake, Alex never repeated the wrong numbers, it was like he knew it was me playing a joke. Alex was taken at a year and a half but just before that Charlie had started counting everything; his stuffed animals, toy blocks, the fish in the Koi pond out back. Alex would always be building things using wood blocks dad had bought. That made dad happy. Being a city planner maybe he thought Alex would follow in his shoes. Now that I think of it Charlie kind of shut down after Alex was taken. He was always clinging to whoever was in the room with him. He was cranky, and didn’t sleep well for awhile.”

“What Charlie went through was difficult too. He knew that Alex was gone, but had no way to articulate his feelings. He didn't know what was going on. All he could do was be cranky.”

“Charlie doesn’t know he had a twin,” Don said quietly looking away and walking to the window.

“No one's ever told him about the abduction? A secret like that is a tremendous burden. Did you feel you weren't allowed to talk about him?”

“At first I would ask when Alex was coming home, but it would always make my mom cry and my dad would send me to my room, so I learned not to talk about him. There was no good way to tell Charlie. There aren't even any pictures out in the house. The only one I know about is of the three of us playing in the sand at the beach for my sixth birthday. It's in my bedroom at my apartment. I don't know what my parents did with the rest of the photos. It was before digital cameras so they must have pictures. They probably upset mom too much so dad put them in boxes either in the attic or garage. That's what he did after mom died; just packed up her stuff and hid it out of sight in the garage.”

A chime sounded from a timer on the doctors desk. “Our times up. I can see you again next week at the same time.”

“That sounds good Doc.”

@@@@@@

Cascade, Washington

******

Jim crouched down and looked at the body. This was the third woman to be murdered in three days. Three days ago a female body drained of blood was found beside the same dumpster. Two days ago a second female body, killed in the same way was found in the same place. The killer was mocking the police. A car was assigned to watch the alley. Now both officers were dead, their necks broken. They both managed to empty their guns but there was no body resulting from gun fire and no blood trail. The bastard had managed to drain a third female of blood and once again just left the body in the alley. There were similarities between the female murders. All the bodies were left where they fell. All were drained of blood with only two puncture wounds on their necks. Jim was sure that the perp and his victim came out the nearby backdoor to a popular karaoke bar. A body count of five meant a serial killer was in Cascade. Captain Banks knew that if anyone could solve it quickly Jim Ellison would so he was assigned the case. 

When the first two bodies were found the lack of blood at the scene suggested the bodies had been killed elsewhere and left by the dumpster, but now with the third victim and Jim’s Sentinel eyesight he knew the murders had taken place in the alley. There was no posing of the body and if the murderer’s MO held true to the other two murders they would find the only thing taken was cash. Credit cards, jewelry and keys were left behind. If robbery was the motive more than cash would have been taken. And why just leave the body beside the dumpster where it would be sure to be found when the bar put out it’s trash at closing? For that matter why risk killing her there where someone might overhear a scream or come out the door for a smoke break. Add to that the perp had come back to the same place to kill again. Whoever did this was damn cocky. 

“There’s nothing to see here, Chief,” Jim told his partner.

“Oh come on Jim, there has to be something,” Blair whispered so no one could overhear. “When’s the last time you went to a crime scene and couldn’t find anything?”

“I’m telling you there’s nothing here. The two of them came out the back door over there. The officers got out of their car and approached. He killed the them. She tried to run but he caught her. The dust smear on the bricks tells me she was pressed against the wall and he let her drop when she was dead. The killer crouched here and took the cash from her purse and walked out of the alley. It took six minutes for a black and white to get here. Whoever did this is damn fast.” 

“There are puncture marks on all the females’ necks he had to have set something up to get the blood out of them.” 

“I’m telling you, Chief, there’s no sign of it.”

“Then how did they get drained of blood?”

“That I don’t know.”

@@@@@@@

Cascade Police Department  
The next morning

******

The Desk Sergeant picked up the phone. “Detective Ellison there’s two Agents from Interpol that would like to speak to you or Detective Sandburg about a case you’re working on.”

Jim was surprised that Interpol was here to talk to him. He had closed the case on the Mercedes smuggling and sent everything he knew about the smuggling ring to Interpol two weeks ago. He wasn’t working on anything right now except the serial killer case. Jim looked at the photos from the coroner's report spread across his desk. Blair was on the computer looking for similar cases in other areas of the country.

“Come on Chief, we need a break,” Jim said. “Interpol is here let’s go see what they want.” Ordinarily he would consider the interruption a major annoyance but he really did need a break. There was something off about this case. Something that was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

Spike recognized Jim from his memories. “The big guy is Jim,” Spike whispered when he saw them coming. “Blair’s the one with the long hair.

Jim could hear what Spike said and was surprised that the agent knew him and Blair and was familiar enough to use their first names. He didn’t recognize either of them. They certainly weren’t Interpol agents he had worked with in the past. He would remember working with an agent that wore an eye patch. He walked up to them and not wanting them to know he had overheard the comment, introduced himself and Blair.

Xander slid his backpack off his shoulder and put out his hand. He introduced himself and Spike and watched for Jim’s reaction when he unexpectedly touched a Guide. He wasn’t disappointed. He saw Jim’s nostrils flare, his pupils dilated and constricted again at Xander’s touch.

“I see you figured out what I am,” Xander whispered too low for the desk sergeant to hear. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk alone?”

“There’s a coffee shop around the corner,” Jim said.

“Are you guys really from Interpol?” Blair asked when they had gotten out to the street and away from the station.

“We are,” Xander said. “The Watcher’s Council has been associated with Interpol for years. That didn’t change after the bombing of the Council headquarters in London several years back. We’re a little known branch called the Watchers Council. We operate all over the world, so our agents can go wherever they’re needed, it’s a win win for both agencies.”

They walked into the coffee shop and chose a table in the back. The morning rush was over and the lunch crowd wouldn’t be in for about an hour so the shop was mostly empty. They all ordered coffee and muffins and then got down to talking.

“I know you’ve figured out by now I’m a Sentinel and Xander is my Guide,” Spike said in a voice both Xander and Blair could hear.

“How did you find out about us?” Jim asked.

“That’s complicated,” Spike told him.

“I’ve got time,” Jim said with a look that Spike knew meant he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“First I want to tell you why we’re here,” Spike said. “Then I’ll answer any questions you have.”

“There’s something I want to know first,” Blair said. “What are your Animal Spirit Guides?” 

Spike was glad that it was one of the memories the powers had given him. “Mine is a blue eyed Cougar and Xander’s is a green eyed talking Hyena.”

“It’s them,” Blair said. “There’s no way they could know about the talking Hyena.”

“It’s good to know we don’t have to start at ground zero,” Xander said. “Aside from being a Guide I’m also a Watcher. We protect people from the darker side of the metaphysical. We came to teach you to be Watchers and for you, Blair, to teach me to be a Guide.”

“You already are a Guide, marked and claimed.” Jim said. 

“There’s a lot more Xander can learn from Blair,” Spike said. “Blair’s anthropological studies have given him a lot of knowledge about Sentinels and Guides.”

“What is it you think you can teach me?” Jim said. “I was a Ranger in the Army and now I’m a police detective with the best close rate in the department.”

“Best close rate in the State, actually,” Spike said. “Have you had any strange deaths in Cascade?” Spike asked. “Maybe a corpse that the blood has been drained from?”

“So you know about our current case,” Jim said. “It’s been in the papers.”

The table fell silent as the waitress delivered the coffee and muffins.

When she left Spike took a pinch of Xander’s muffin and tasted it then he took a sip of Xander’s coffee. He put them in front of Xander and nodded that they were okay to eat. Blair and Jim watched the ritual. Apparently Spike didn’t mind at all if people saw his behavior and neither did Xander. Jim was not that open. He didn’t want to be labeled as different or worse, weird. He settled for turning up his scent dial and sniffing Blair’s food. Low profile worked just fine for him. 

“We just flew in from Cleveland so we haven’t had a chance to read your local newspapers,” Spike said and then he leaned in and whispered so Blair could hear. “You have a vampire problem and you don’t know how to kill it. Have you lost any officers yet?”

Jim was surprised but didn’t let it show on his face. He wasn’t sure of these two yet but he was willing to give them a chance. “Two last night.” he said.

“Incacha called them Night Walkers,” Blair whispered back.

“Incacha?” Xander asked.

“He’s a shaman spirit from Peru.” Spike answered. “I’ll have to tell Willow he’s with us on this. She should contact him. He’ll be an invaluable asset. Getting back on subject, Night Walkers or Vampires, you can’t kill them with bullets. If you try you’ll die. Your two dead police officers prove that. I’ll bet they both emptied their guns. They always do.”

“And you know how to kill them?” Jim asked.

“It’s what we do,” Xander told him. “We’re here to teach you how to kill them and a lot of other nasty things that go bump in the night. The trick is finding them first. That’s where being a Sentinel will help. You can track them by scent. Vampires like to stay in deserted places; dark places where they can sleep all day without being disturbed. Once you know where to look and pick up their scent you can kill them. Of course if you know their MO you can just wait them out. Most of them are as dumb as bricks, if it’s good hunting they’ll go back to the same place, or one like it. There aren't any Slayers here so they think they’re home free.”

“So your saying this...Vampire...is going to pick up another woman at the same bar?” Jim asked.

“Probably not at the same bar,” Xander said. “He’ll know that you’ll have even more men there tonight. He’ll go where there’s a lot of people.”

“I need to see the crime scene and the clothes the victims were wearing” Spike said. “Maybe I can pick up his scent.”

“Even if you get his scent there’s no trail to follow,” Jim said.

“I saw a warehouse district as we landed,” Spike said. “Is there a bar anywhere near any of the abandoned warehouses?”

“A few bars,” Blair said. “I lived down there before Jim and I met. The warehouses are in pretty bad shape, but they keep out the wind, rain, and sunshine.”

“That’s where we want to look,” Spike said. “Will there be a problem with Captain Banks reading Xander and me in on the case?”

“Not unless he’s pissed about you not introducing yourselves to him first,” Jim said.

Spike and Xander smiled at the comment. People are easy, it’s demons that are hard.

@@@@@@

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the hits and kudos. Please comment. This is the first time we have written a Numb3rs fic. Comments help readers find good stories. We answer all comments.  
> Thank you readers,  
> Joan


	4. Chapter 4

@@@@@@ 

Evening Cascade  
Jim’s loft  
******

Jim looked at the stake. “Do you really expect me to kill something with this?”

Xander sat on the sofa watching the two Sentinels. “You have to hit a vampire in the heart with wood. Willow killed one once with a sharp pencil.”

“There are only three ways to kill a vampire,” Spike said. “Cut off its head, burn it, or stab it in the heart with wood. I don’t think you want to be seen walking around Cascade with a sword, your not a pyromaniac, so that leaves the stake.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Jim said sounding a bit incredulous. “ but I’m still bringing my gun Let’s go get this guy.”

“I’ve said it before, but I guess I’ll have to say it again. bullets won’t stop a vampire. AND It’s not a guy; it’s a demon” Xander said as he handed a stake to Blair. “Don’t underestimate it. It’s stronger and faster than you think. Blair, you and I should be their backup. Let the Sentinel’s take care of this.”

******

Jim and Spike picked up the vampire’s scent in one of the abandoned warehouses. “You take the lead,” Spike said to Jim knowing he wouldn’t accept anything else. “I’ve got your back.”

Blair followed holding a flashlight in the dark building. It was enough light for the Sentinels to see by. Xander took up the rear keeping watch that the vampire did not sneak up behind them. 

When they found that the area where the vampire had been sleeping was empty Spike knew he was out hunting. “It looks like there’s just the one. You said there’s a bar around here?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, but it’s a pretty wild place, most of the customers are longshoremen and working girls.”

“Show me,” Spike said. “If we’re lucky we’ll get there before he finds a working girl he likes.”

“Vampire’s are choosy?” Blair asked.

“He’ll want one that’s in decent health and drug free,” Spike said. “Can’t have too much alcohol in the blood either.”

“It’ll be faster to walk there then to go back to the truck,” Jim said. “It’s only two blocks.”

The four walked in silence for a few minutes. Spike could hear the music from the bar up ahead. 

“How long have you been hunting these things?” Jim asked 

“Depends,” Spike said.

“Either you’re hunting them or you’re not,” Jim said annoyed at Spike for avoiding the question. As far as Jim was concerned Spike had been avoiding far too many questions.

“In this life three months, and the last five years of a past life.”

“You have past life memories of killing vampires?”

“Vampire’s and other big uglies.”

“This is the place,” Jim said. “How do we pick him out.”

“That’s not going to be a problem,” Spike said. “Let’s check out the alley up ahead. It may have a back door to the bar.”

The alley looked like most alleys beside a business. There was a trash bin and a back door exit from the bar. It was just the kind of place where the vampire had killed its other victims.

“I think you and Blair should guard the back door, Jim. ” Spike said. “Xander and I will go see if he’s in the bar. If he’s in there and we’re lucky we can get him to come to the alley. Blair you have our number, call us if he shows.”

Jim scowled but he agreed to guard the back. 

Spike went into the bar first and Xander entered two minutes later. He scanned the place and saw Spike watching the vampire sitting alone at a table. The vampire was on the hunt closely watching for a likely victim. 

Xander ordered a beer and went over to the vampires table. “Is this seat taken,” he asked.

The vamp looked at Xander and smiled. “I hate drinking alone, have a seat.” 

“Thanks,” Xander said. “I’m new to Cascade, I was looking for a decent place to get a beer. All I found was a place to get a beer.”

“It’s my first time here,” the vamp told him. “My car’s in the shop and this is within walking distance of my place.”

“I had a tough day. New job, new boss, you know what I mean,” Xander said. “I just wanted a relaxing place to veg out.”

The vampire couldn’t believe his luck, lunch came walking over and asked to sit at his table now he was giving him the perfect opportunity to get out of this dive and have a decent meal. “I know a great place not far away. If you want I’ll show it to you.”

Xander took a gulp of beer. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Oh by the way my name’s Xander.”

“Bob,” the vampire said.

Spike headed for the back door. He ignored the bartender when he yelled at him. “They’re on the way,” Spike whispered to Jim when he came out the door. Jim, Blair, and Spike stood beside the dumpster out of line of sight from the mouth of the alley. 

The vamp pulled Xander into the ally and shoved him against the wall. Spike was on top of him and pulled him off before he could sink his fangs into Xander. 

Spike held the struggling vampire. “Jim, he’s all yours.” 

Jim looked at the distorted face and yellow eyes. He didn’t really believe in the existence of vampires. Now he stood face to face with one. Blair inched up to get a good look, Jim put an arm out. He didn’t want his Guide anywhere near that thing. 

“Are you going to kill it or stare at it?” Xander asked. 

Jim took out his hand cuffs. “You're under arrest for five counts of murder.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Xander said with a groan. “You know you really are one pompous ass. You saw what he did to those three women and the two officers.”

“I’m a police officer,” Jim said. “He’s entitled to due process.”

Xander took out his stake and stabbed the vampire in the heart. Spike turned his head to avoid breathing in the cloud of dust. “Due process that,” Xander said glaring at Jim.

“What the hell? Where'd he go” Jim asked.

“How many times do we have to tell you, vampires are not human. They are killers without mercy.” Spike said none to gently.

“There’s no body,” Jim said. “How am I supposed to bring him in and close the case?”

“Sorry about upsetting your close rate, Jim,” Xander said, not sounding sorry at all. “But I just saved a lot of lives by dusting him. He would have broken out of the cuffs and killed any one of us or waited until he got to the station and killed anyone he came in contact with.”

“Xander’s right,” Spike said. “Handcuffs won’t hold a vampire. Not unless you have a witch or warlock put a spell on them.” 

“Jim,” Blair said placing a calming hand on his Sentinel’s arm. “They’re right that thing wasn’t human. Let’s get out of here and we can talk this out in the morning, after a good night’s sleep.” Blair wasn’t at all sure he was going to be able to sleep, but he did know he wanted to get out of the alley and away from that pile of dust. 

@@@@@@

Pasadena, California  
Eppes Craftsman Home  
******

“Charlie? Dad? Anybody here?” Don called as he came in the front door and checked the mail on the table.

“Charlie’s in the garage. Did you need him for the case?” Alan said as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of chips. “I was just about to put the game on. No offense but you look like shit. Have you eaten. There’s some left over casserole in the fridge. Do you want me to heat some up for you.”

“That would be nice dad,” Don said looking sad and dejected. “I'm not here for Charlie. Just wanted to see who was here. I really came to talk to you.”

“Really? That’s a change,” Alan said as he headed for the kitchen. And began putting some casserole in a bowl for his son. “Sit down Donny. What did you want to talk about?”

“The case we’re on has really brought up some old issues and memories. I’ve been having nightmares. I’m seeing a therapist and there are things he wants me to talk to you about.” Don knew he was skirting the subject but it was just such a hard subject to bring up after twenty-five years. 

“Nightmares… No wonder you look like hell. What's going on with this case, that it would give you nightmares?”

“It’s a child abduction case.”

“Don.. No. I can't.”

“Dad. We have to at some point. He’s your son, my brother. I need to know what happened to him... for me, for mom, for Charlie, and for you. This case; one of the boys we found looks just like Alex would have at three. I couldn't take it, I blew up at Megan. I don't do that with her. I need to talk about him.”

“Donny, please,” Alan pleaded with his oldest son. “I want to know too, but there was no evidence and nothing but dead ends at every turn. Alex is gone. I’ve tried to accept that. You should too.” 

“I can’t. My FBI training, my logical mind tells me he’s probably dead, but in my soul I know Alex is out there somewhere. I just know he’s alive. I know I can find him. I can use the FBI database to search for anything regarding Alex.”

“Fine do it. But keep me out of it. I don’t want to get my hopes up only to have my heart ripped out again. Please don't get your hopes up either Don. Do what you have to do...just..” Alan turned and walked back into the living room, “The games going to start.” He had given his son what he needed. Now all he wanted to do is bury his pain back in the deep dark hole Don had just pulled it out of.

“Thanks Dad.” Don sighed with relief, his dad agreed he could look for Alex. Following his father back through the dining room with his warm casserole, he paused and looked at his dad watching him closely, “Dad where are the pictures of Alex and Charlie?”

******

Charlie’s POV

*****

He was working on a geographic map of where the boys had been found. Comparing it to local weather maps, the rates of decomposition and body positions. He was trying to figure out if there were any more bodies in those woods and where they would be.

Charlie reached for his bottle of water. He tipped it to his lips while staring at his whiteboard to find it empty. He decided he needed to take a break so he put down the bottle and his chalk and headed for the kitchen. Charlie grabbed a new bottle of water from the fridge. As he turned to go back to the garage he heard voices from the living room so he moved closer and as he was about to open the door heard Don say, “... where are the pictures of Alex and Charlie? I want to use one for facial recognition. I have one of the three of us at the beach for my birthday, but it’s only a little more than a profile of Alex.”

“Why not use a picture of Charlie? They are identical twins.”

Charlie was stunned, he couldn't move or think of anything other than; ‘use a picture of Charlie? They are identical twins.’ It kept repeating over and over in his heard.

He had a twin. 

Then he heard Don’s next comment. “No, they're not. I saw the differences between them. Charlie has your nose and eyes. Alex had mom’s and your hair. It was more of a wave than the curls of mom and Charlie.”

Charlie couldn't take hearing anymore. In a daze he turned around and walked back out to the garage with the words ‘identical twin’ and ‘Alex’ on a loop in his mind.

******

“Don, you saw that? They were only a year and a half old.”

“Yeah, Dad. I did. Please tell me where the pictures are. I need closure on Alex before I can really move on with my life.”

“Okay, Donny.” Alan said with a sigh slowly getting back up from his chair. He really didn’t want to do this. He wanted to bury the pain not dig it up. But his son, his living son, needed this. He had never thought about how the kidnapping had effected Don. Now it was hitting him in the face like a baseball bat. He steeled himself and did what he had to do. “Follow me. They're in your mother's closet in my room. I moved them from my closet after she died.”

“Thanks Dad,” Don thought for a moment and decided there was no time like the present as they headed up the stairs. “We need to tell Charlie about Alex. He has a right to know. Mom would have wanted him to know.” He watched as his dad seemed to age with each step he took. Each step more labored, more difficult as his father pulled himself up the stairs.

“That’s a bridge too far for me right now,” Alan told his son.

@@@@@

Next Morning  
FBI Office  
Laboratory

******

“Do you know the age of the child in the photo,” the technician asked.

“He’s a year and a half old.” Don told her.

“And how old is the missing person now?”

“He’s twenty-seven. Can you do it?”

“First we have to put the photo through a computer program to age him. Then I can run facial recognition. You should know that this is not a perfect science. It will be ninety to ninety-five percent accurate, but ten percent can make or break a match.”

“I understand that,” Don said. “It’s the only option I’ve got.”

“What databases do you want this run through?”

“Every one we have access to,” Don told her. “How long will this take?”

“Depends, anywhere from a few hours to almost a week at least, once I've got the picture aged and put into the system. It depends on how fast we get a hit and if he’s even in the system.”

“I don’t want you to stop just because we get a hit. Run it through all of them. I don't care how long it takes. I need him found.”

“Okay, I’ll get started.” She said. The tech could tell this missing person meant a lot to the agent.

 

@@@@@@

 

Restaurant  
Cascade, Washington  
Morning  
******

“What are we going to do about those two?” Xander asked. “They saw the vamp in true face and Jim still wanted to bring him in. You heard him. He’s more concerned about his closure rate than learning about becoming a Watcher.”

“The Powers sent me back and they mentioned Jim and Blair by name,” Spike said as he sipped his coffee. “We have no choice, we have to stick with this.”

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’?” Xander asked. 

“We’re not the only ones working on this. They’re in touch with Incacha and apparently also in touch with your talking Hyena.”

“That talking Hyena stuff is weird. How could they know about it?”

“Off hand I’d say the Hyena got in touch with them. It does like to talk.”

“Since I got ...un-possessed, it’s been around, I can feel it sometimes but it hasn’t talked to me. How do you know it likes to talk? Has it talked to you since you’ve claimed me?”

“It’s never talked to me, but I have memories of it talking to the other Xander. I didn’t know you could feel it with you,” Spike said giving his Guide an analyzing look.

“I ignore it,” Xander said. “As long as it doesn’t try to make me eat someone, I’m fine. Can we get back on subject. What are we going to do about Jim and Blair?”

“I think we need to meditate on it and go from there. We should call Willow too. Maybe the coven can get more info for us.”

******

Jim’s loft

*****

“What are we going to do about Xander and Spike?” Blair asked as he scooped a generous amount of scrambled eggs onto Jim’s plate.

“Those two are crazy,” Jim said. “As far as I’m concerned they can get their asses out of Cascade.”

“But Jim, we’ve been delving into the metaphysical. We asked for a teacher and they were sent to us. We can’t turn our backs on this.”

“I don’t have a problem with that.”

“I think we should talk to them.”

“No!”

“I’ll compromise with you,” Blair said. “We’ll meditate on it and ask if we should talk to them or turn our backs on them. I’ll agree to do whatever the meditation tells us to do.”

“I have a feeling that’s the best deal I’m going to get, Chief.”

“I know they come off as unusual,” Blair said. “But when I think about it, they didn’t lie to us. I mean human beings don’t erupt in a cloud of dust when you stab them. Besides, Xander’s kind of warm. It felt good talking to him. It feels like we've been friends for a long time.”

“He called me a pompous ass.”

“Well to be honest, as far as they’re concerned, you haven’t exactly been the warm welcoming man I’ve come to know.”

“You’re blaming me for this?”

“You were closed minded about all this.”

“When I agreed to explore the metaphysical side of the Sentinel/Guide Bond I didn’t think it would lead to vampire hunting. I know you think they are our teachers, but they aren’t teaching what I want to learn.”

“I probably should have warned you when it comes to the metaphysical you don’t get the teacher you want you get the teacher you need.”

 

@@@@@@

Evening Meditation

******* 

Willow and her coven sat in a circle and lit the candles. She knew that Spike and Xander, half way across the country in Cascade, were doing the same thing. She was going to try to reach the Shaman Incacha. Spike said he could be helpful since he was the Spiritual Guide of Sentinels.

What Willow didn’t know was that Sentinel Jim Ellison and Guide Blair Sandburg were also lighting their candles for their evening meditation.

Willow held hands with the other witches in the circle and the coven closed their eyes and began their rhythmic breathing to help them get into their meditative trance.

“Shaman Incacha,” Willow called. “Spiritual Guide to the Sentinel’s of our world. We are in need of your wisdom. We call on your spirit to speak with us and give us guidance.”

In Cascade Blair and Jim were also calling on Incacha. “Incacha, we ask for your wisdom. We wish to know are the Sentinel Spike and his Guide Xander our true teachers or are they false. Please give us your guidance.” 

Willow repeated the chant rocking back and forth in their circle. Two pairs of Sentinel and Guide, unknown to each other also called on the Shaman. As all of them slipped deeper into their trance they began to hear drum beats. The darkness of closed eyes faded and the gray of stone walls began to solidify around them.

Incacha stood in the temple of the Sentinels dressed in his native clothing. His long shining black hair hung loose down his back and he wore a crown of feathers on his head. He held a decorated staff in his hand with a rattle made of seashells. He lifted the staff and slammed it down on the stone floor. Willow stopped her chant.

Spike, Xander, Jim, and Blair arrived at the temple at the same time as the coven. They stood quietly waiting for Incacha to Speak.

“Witch!” Incacha seemed to roar. “Why do you call to me? My wisdom belongs to the Sentinels and their Guides.”

“I am Willow, servant of the Light. Sentinels are new to our world. I wish to learn how to better serve them. I humbly ask to be your student.”

“What Sentinel do you serve?” Incacha asked.

“Willow serves me,” Spike said.

Incacha walked over to Spike. “Yellow eyes, why do you send this witch to me? Has she gone through the fire as you have?

“She has gone through the Darkness and fought to come back into the Light,” Spike said, remembering Willows emotional turmoil during the last days of his life in Sunnydale. “She serves with integrity in this life and another I have memories of. In that world she is ~ Guide~.”

Blair and Jim were listening carefully to what Incacha was saying. He called Spike Yellow eyes. Spikes eyes were clearly blue. Yet Spike answered to the odd name as if he were familiar with it. Blair and Jim had seen a being with yellow eyes. It was the vampire that Xander had dusted. Also Incacha indicated that Spike had gone through the fire. Blair knew exactly what that meant and so did Jim. The best metal goes through the fire. Spike had been tested and he had passed and gained the respect of Incacha. 

“Yellow eyes, do you stand by this witch’s soul?” Incacha asked

Spike understood the importance of the question. Incacha was asking him to personally vouch for Willow. “I do,” Spike answered.

Incacha turned to Willow. “I will accept you as my apprentice in your world. The lessons will come to you. The things you must learn will not be easy, but you have a strong spirit. I believe you will prevail. Will you accept?”

“I accept with gratitude,” Willow said with a bow of her head.

Incacha turned to Jim and Blair. “You asked for a teacher. Two have been sent. The choice is yours to accept or deny. It is not my choice to make.”

Incacha lifted his staff and brought it down. Everyone fell out of their trance.

******  
TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments are welcomed and will be answered.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

******  
The Next Morning  
Jim’s Loft Apartment  
******

Blair had made a breakfast of scrambled eggs with onions and green pepper, turkey bacon, sourdough toast, and coffee. It was one of Jim’s favorites. They ate in silence until their plates were two thirds empty. That’s when Blair felt it was time to address the elephant in the room.

“When are we going to call them?” he asked.

“The deal was that you would do whatever Incacha told us,” Jim said. “He said it was our decision. I’m not calling them.” His feelings were crystal clear. He didn’t want to get pulled into some freaky world where perps exploded in a cloud of dust. It was weird enough being a  
Sentinel. He stood firmly by his statement that the two Interpol Agents didn’t have anything to teach him that he wanted to learn.

“Man, I can’t believe you’re saying that to me. You heard Incacha say that they were the teachers.” Blair couldn’t let this opportunity pass them by. “If they hadn’t come along we still wouldn’t know who killed those people.”

“The guy called me a pompous ass,” Jim said. “He has no respect for us.”

“Is that what this is about?” Blair asked. “Try looking at it from their point of view. They spent all that time with us. Gave us all that information and you never told them your concerns. Maybe you should have talked to them instead of just deciding to arrest that...THING.”

“You think this is my fault.”

“You’re the one that’s saying no.”

“You really feel that strongly that we should get involved with those freaks?”

“I don’t think they’re freaks,” Blair said.

“Incacha called Spike, Yellow Eyes. We both know what that meant. He was calling him a Vampire. That’s pretty freaky, Chief.”

“Incacha also said that Spike had been tested. We know that Xander had been tested by the Hyena. I know from my study of the metaphysical that it’s pretty standard to be put to the test. Maybe this is our test.”

“They came here from out of nowhere and told us we have a vampire problem and that that vampire is the cause of our strange murders.”

“Do you think they lied to us about that thing killing people?”

“All I know is that we didn’t have any proof that it was that...vampire... that killed those three women and the two officers. All we had was their word.”

“Think about it Jim. There was plenty of circumstantial evidence. You said yourself that you couldn’t find any evidence of how those women were drained of blood. Add to that, the officers emptied their guns into something in that alley. We found no bullet holes in any of the walls and no blood trail. So let’s apply occam's razor, the simplest explanation is the correct one. In this case the simplest explanation is a vampire killed them. Do you have a better one?”

“No, Chief. I don’t.”

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to continue on this pompous ass trajectory, turn your back on the metaphysical, and say to the tribe this far and no further? Or are you going to embrace what you are, a Sentinel, a Protector of the tribe no matter the enemy?”

“You really know how to kick a Sentinel in the ass, Chief.”

“That’s what a Guide is for, a good swift kick in the ass when called for. So what’s your answer?”

Jim gave a heavy exhale and ran his hand over his cropped hair. “You know when you put it that way I can’t turn my back. We’ll call them after our shift.”

******  
Chinese Restaurant  
Cascade  
******

“This is really good,” Xander said. “We only get to eat Chinese once a year in Cleveland.”

“Why’s that?” Blair asked.

“Too many people, it’s just to expensive. So for our New Year’s Day party we have Chinese.”

“You couldn’t just go out with a friend?” Jim asked.

“That opportunity wasn’t available until I bonded with Spike,” Xander told them.

“It sounds like you were a prisoner,” Jim said.

Blair recognized an interrogation when he heard one. He gave Jim a sharp nudge with his knee.

“Well as the old Eagles’ song says; a prisoner of my own accord.”

Spike eyes sparkled as he met Jim’s eyes and smiled. He wanted Jim to know that he understood exactly what was going on and found it amusing. Jim made a note to himself that Spike was an excellent reader of body language including facial expressions and had a sharply analytical mind, as well as, in his opinion, an odd sense of humor.

Jim decided to ignore Blair’s annoyance and Spike’s amusement. There was too much he wanted to know about these two and for the first time since they met they weren't avoiding personal questions. “Why would you do that to yourself?”

Xander shrugged. “I was a prisoner anyway. The best I could do was choose the prison I lived in. I chose the one where people cared about me. They became my family. It’s not perfect. But given the choice of eating Chinese once a week and living in the prison of a life that’s a lie or living in the prison of a painful truth with loving people beside me… I chose the latter and every day I wake up and choose it again.”

Jim didn’t know what to say. He just stared at the one eyed young man. He was a Guide, like Blair, always reaching out to make the world a better place. Putting others first. Jim suddenly wanted to reach out too. He wanted to bridge the abyss he had put between himself and the teachers that had been sent simply because he and Blair had asked for them. “Blair gave me a very similar choice this morning,” he said. “Continue to be a police detective, turn my back on what I’ve seen and fail to fully protect the people of Cascade or be what I was meant to be, a Sentinel that protects his people from all its enemies.”

“As painful as it is sometimes to be what you are,” Spike said, “it’s indescribably more painful to try to be what you’re not. Trust me on that, I know.”

“I think we should continue this conversation at home,” Blair said. “It’s still early. Will you come back to the loft with us?”

“I’ve been wondering when you’d get around to asking,” Xander said with one of his puppy dog smiles.

******

Everyone was much more relaxed now that Jim had started to trust Spike and Xander.

“So,” Blair said. “Jim and I are curious. Why did Incacha call you Yellow Eyes?”

“I was a vampire in a past life,” Spike said. “I didn’t know it when I was going through it, but everything that happened to me was to prepare me for my lives as a Sentinel.”

“Lives, plural?” Jim asked.

“Yes,” Spike said. “I have memories of the four of us as Sentinels and Guides in a different reality. We are very close, family in every way but blood. When I was sent here I was told I could keep the memories that would help me in this reality.”

“You said we are very close, so you don’t consider it a past life?” Blair asked.

“It’s difficult to explain but they are memories of what is happening, not memories of what has happened,” Spike said. “But this is the reality that this me lives in. We’re fighting a different war here. We have to be what we need to be for this war. Xander has something for you.”

Xander took his keys from his pocket and removed a red and blue thumb drive from his key ring. He handed them to Blair. “The red one is a partial demon encyclopedia. Willow put together the most likely demons to come to Cascade. Demons are very climate oriented. You live on a sea coast so you’ll get demons that need to drink salt water and prefer cooler weather. In Florida they have different kinds of demons. Anyway there is also a link and password to our online encyclopedia in case you run into something else. Or you can call us. Everything is cross referenced; color if you know it, how many claws it has, horns or not, whether or not it wears clothes. Why don’t you get your computer and I’ll show you.”

Blair went to get his laptop.

“This is getting a little complicated,” Jim said.

“I know it seems that way right now,” Spike said. “But you deal with this one demon and one day at a time.”

“Why don’t we all move to the kitchen table?” Blair said.

******

“I’ve got it,” Blair said fifteen minutes later. “It’s really simple to use. Is the blue drive the same?”

“Not exactly,” Spike said. “The Blue drive is Watcher’s Chronicles. Watcher’s keep records of metaphysical happenings and Vampire’s to watch out for. They were responsible for sending the slayer to deal with whatever came down the pike. There was only one slayer at the time so the Watcher responsible for the slayer had to be sensitive to the metaphysical. They were often witches, wizards or warlocks.”

“One of the things that is in transition in this reality is that Guides are taking over the job of being Watchers,” Xander said. “That’s a good thing because some of the Watches were egotistical bastards.”

“As far as I know you and Blair are the only Guides and Spike and I are the only Sentinels," Jim said. “There aren’t a lot of Guides around to become Watchers.”

“That’s going to change,” Spike said. “There are already a lot of Empaths in the world. Society just refuses to recognize them. A Guide is an Empath with a particular job to do. Sentinels are coming back to this reality. It’s slow right now but it will gain momentum. Eventually people will recognize them.”

Xander yawned and stretched.

“You’re getting tired Luv, we should get home and get some rest,” Spike said. “We can continue this another day.”

@@@@@@

L.A. FBI Office  
One week later  
******

One week after Don gave the lab tech the photo of Alex she came up to talk to him. “I have five hits,” she told him. “I just want you to know I adjusted the parameters of the search so that it didn’t take as many match points to get a hit. I thought that it would compensate for the ten percent error rate.”

“That’s good thinking,” Don Said. “Show me what you’ve got.”

The tech handed him an 8x10 brown envelope. Don opened it and pulled out the photos. The first photo made his heart jump. The family resemblance was uncanny. Don turned the photo over and read the attached paperwork. The man had immigrated into the USA with his parents at three years old. The age was right but immigrants would have been heavily vetted. The chances of that being Alex were very slim.

The second photo also had a family resemblance but the hair was wrong. It was just too light and too straight. He didn’t have a single relative with that color hair and Alex’s hair had a soft wave. Don thought he could safely eliminate him from a possibility.

The man in the third photo had blue eyes. Don looked at the tech. “Why are you showing me a guy with blue eyes?”

“We don’t eliminate a hit for eye color,” She told him. “Eye color can be changed with contact lenses and sometimes it changes as a child grows. I had a cousin who had dark brown almost black eyes as a baby but they lightened up to a almost hazel brown by the time she was in her twenties.”

“Fair enough, I’ve heard of eyes getting lighter with age but, blue eyes are a recessive gene. The only way to have them is if you inherit the gene from both parents. Lets see what info we have on him in case he’s wearing contacts.” Don said. He turned the page. The guy grew up in the Midwest had joined the army after high school. That meant his DNA was on file.

The fourth photo had the right type of wavy almost curly hair, also the right eye color but Don dismissed it because the skin tone was not quite right.

Don moved on to the last photo in the stack and stared at the photo of a young man wearing an eye patch.

“This is the one I wanted to talk to you about,” the tech said, she sounded excited. “He came up with the least point matches so I took out the eye patch, put in an eye and reran it. He came up with the same number of match points as the first photo. I put the edited photo in the envelope too.”

Don looked at the retouched photo. He couldn't look away, this was him. He knew it. It was the eyes. A warm chocolaty brown almost the color of whiskey. Don finally tore his eyes away from the eyes in the photo and flipped to the back for the information and read. The young man was an Interpol Agent there was a copy of a Sworn Affidavit of USA Birth. “Whats this?” Don said. “Interpol should have a birth certificate.”

“It’s rare,” the tech said. “At first I thought bingo, but then I noticed he’s from Sunnydale. That’s the town that fell into a sinkhole a few years back so all birth records were lost. He has a legitimate reason for the Affidavit.”

“Or maybe not,” Don said. He read on. Alexander Lavelle Harris born September 23, 1975 in Sunnydale, California. The first name was the same. The birthday was correct as well. But the year was wrong it should have been 1974. ‘Whoever took Alex must have changed the year to throw off police,’ Don thought to himself. He continued to read the info on the young man. He became an agent three years ago and was working out of Cleveland, Ohio. “Since when do they have an Interpol Office in Cleveland?”

“Hey, I’m just a lab rat, don’t ask me,” the tech said, she took a test tube with a swab inside out of her pocket and handed it to Don. “Get me some DNA to run against what he and the soldier have on file and I’ll run it. A paternity test only takes an hour.”

Don took the tube. “Thanks for helping me with this. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” Walking away Don knew he had to head home and see his father. This was going to be another emotional conversation. He wasn’t looking forward to it. The subject had been carefully avoided for the past week. Don decided he would take some evidence bags with him in case his dad refused to give him the cheek swab. If he had to he’d steal the DNA. There were plenty of opportunities in the house. Telling Colby he’d be back later Don left the building with the pictures.

******  
Eppes Home  
******

Don walked into his brother’s home and called out. He didn’t bother to check the mail like he usually did. He couldn’t wait any longer. Charlie would have to know that he was searching for a lost brother. He couldn’t just spring a twin on him.

“Hey Don. Early day at work?” Alan asked

“I left early. Is Charlie home?”

“He’s in the garage. Where else would he be.”

“I need to talk to him,” Don said. He headed for the garage.

Alan felt his stomach turn. He had a strong feeling what the conversation was going to be about.

******

“Charlie, I need to talk to you,” Don told his brother. “I think you need to sit down,”

“I’m really busy with this equation then I have to mark some papers. Will it take long?” Charlie asked.

“I’m not sure,” Don said looking at the brown envelope he held in his hand.

“Does someone want me to look at his kids math project?”

“No, nothing like that. I…” Don looked at the floor and then back into his brother’s eyes. “Charlie something happened when you were a year and a half old. Mom and dad never talked about it, not even to me.”

“What are you talking about Don? Nothing happened when I was that young.”

“Yes. It did. I don’t know any other way to say this than to just come out with it. We have another brother. Your older twin; he was kidnapped from the park when you were a year and a half old. I used the FBI lab and ran an updated childhood photo through every database we have access to. I found two possible matches. Do you want to see the pictures?”

“That’s what’s in the envelope?”

“Yeah, Charlie. I’m pretty sure that one of them is Alex.”

“His name was Alex?”

“Is Alex. His name is Alex,” Don said. He didn’t like Charlie putting Alex in the past tense. “Look if you don’t want to look at the photos now that’s fine. I understand. I know its a lot to process. I’ll run the DNA and when I get a match, then you can look at the photos.

“No. I'll look now. See if I can tell who he is. I want to tell you, Don. I overheard you and Dad talking about this last week. So I’ve had a few days to process. I was beginning to think I misheard.”

Don pulled the photos out of the envelope and handed them to Charlie with the blue eyed man on top. “I feel really guilty for not telling you about Alex, but I just didn’t know how.”

Charlie nodded to his brother, ”We’ll talk about it later,” then he looked at the blue eyed man and studied his features. Except for the blue eyes he looked like he could be family. Flipping to the second photo Charlie paused at the eye patched man in the photo.

“There’s an edited photo of what he’d look like without the eye patch.”

Charlie flipped to the next picture and then flipped back. This was Alex his twin. It was startling to see he only had one eye. But just seeing his photo Charlie felt like a piece of his soul was right in front of him.

“I wonder why he doesn’t wear a glass eye? You don’t see many people with an eye patch these days.”

“We can ask him when we find him.” Don told his brother sure that it would happen. “I need to talk to dad about these and get a DNA sample from him. The lab wanted a paternal sample, and I’m hoping he’ll give it willingly. Do you want to come in with me or stay out here?”

“I'll come with. I want to know why he hid this from me.”

“This is still a very painful subject for dad. Don't take all your frustration about it out on him. I could have told you too, but I didn't because it hurt too much and, like I said, I just didn’t know how.”

******

“Dad? We need to talk.” Don called as the brothers walked back in through the kitchen.

“In here.” Alan replied. He was just setting a box on the dining room table.

“Is that…?” Don asked.

“Yeah. I figured this is what you had come to talk about. I have to face it sooner or later. Now’s the time. We’ll get to these in a moment…” Alan looked to Charlie and told him, “Charlie I'm sorry we never told you about Alex. He was kidnapped when your mother took you both to the park one afternoon. She couldn’t bare to talk about it. The police looked for months with no leads. We never got a ransom letter or phone call. Nothing. Your mother was too distraught over losing a child. She couldn't even look at the photos of Alex, so I put them in this box and kept them in my closet. She devoted all her time to you boys. It tore her apart inside to lose one of you. When you went east to college she couldn't stand to let you go alone.”

“So she went with me to Princeton,” Charlie said in realization of his mother’s over protectiveness.

“I had a tech run the photo you gave me last week, dad. They found a few matches this afternoon. I narrowed it down to two. I want you to look at them… If you can.” Don handed his father the photos in the same order he had given them to Charlie only minutes earlier.

Taking the photos Alan looked at the blue eyed man on top. The man could be family, Alan’s mother and himself were blue eyed as well. Moving on to the next photo Alan saw a man with an eye patch, dark wavy hair, and a chocolate colored eye.

“There is an edited photo behind it. The tech took out the patch and replaced it with what his eye should look like.” Don quietly told his father.

Flipping to the next photo Alan paused, the same way the younger Eppes men had at seeing the photo. Alan looked at Charlie, then back to the photo, then to Don. “This is him. Alex. You actually found him? How? You’re sure?”

“Not quite dad. He works for Interpol so his DNA should be on file. I need a cheek swab from you to get a positive match.”

“Done. I had given up hope that Alex would ever be found. Do you know where he is. You said he worked for Interpol. Do I need to renew my passport?” Alan turned the page and began to read the information Interpol had on file. “So that’s how they got around him not having a birth certificate, this is a Sworn Affidavit of USA Birth. But where does it say he’s living? Oh I found it, he’s stationed in...CLEVELAND? Since when do they need Interpol Agents in Cleveland? I just never thought of that as a center of international crime.”

“I know dad,” Don said, “That kind of surprised me too. At least we don’t have to go to Europe to find him. I’m an FBI agent so I’ll tell Interpol I’m working on a cold case. I shouldn't have any trouble getting his address.”

“You go and run the test, Donny. How long does it take? A week?”

“The tech said it takes an hour,” Don said. “We should have an answer by tomorrow.”

“In the meantime I’ll tell Charlie all about his older twin.” Alan said with a small smile to his youngest.

*******  
Next day  
FBI Office  
*******

Don looked at his watch, he couldn’t wait. it had been fifty minutes. He headed for the lab.

“Five more minutes,” the lab tech told him when she saw him coming.

Don paced and watched the clock on the wall. He counted the number of times the second hand went past the twelve. He got to four and then kept repeating to himself, “One more minute, One more minute.” There were twenty seven seconds left when he heard the machine beep.

The tech went over and took what looked like a film, with lines and dots on it, out of the machine.

“What does it say,” Don asked.

“Hold on, I have to read it,” the tech told him. She went over to a light box and took a similar film out of an envelope. “The test I just took out of the machine is your dad, This one is blue eyes,“ she put the two films together and attached them to the light box. “ There see this line here, for lack of a better name I’ll call it the tribal gene. Blue eyes gene is different than your father’s so there is zero percent chance he’s your brother. That one mismatch eliminates him.” She took down the two films and put blue eyes film back in his envelope. She picked up the other envelope and took out a film. “This is eye patch guy.” She put the two films together and put the on the light box. “He has the same tribal gene and he matches here, here, and here.” She stopped talking and just concentrated on what she was reading. Then she turned to Don. “Eye patch guy is your brother.” Her voice cracked. “You did it, You found him.”

“I have to go call my dad and my brother.”

******

TBC

******

Comments are welcomed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
> My thanks to my co-author TimeVortex  
> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

@@@@@@

FBI Office

******

Don’s call to his father had been short and joy filled. His dad’s only words had been “Now finish this, Donny. Find Alex and bring him home.”

Things were not going as well with the call to Interpol. Don had been moved to three different agents, now he had been on hold for ten minutes before finally being connected to yet another agent.

“This is Supervisory Special Agent Delacroix,” a man with a soft French accent answered. “How may I help you.”

“This is Supervisory Special Agent Eppes with the FBI. I hope you can help me. You’re the fourth person I’ve been switched to.”

“I apologize,” Delacroix said. “Please, what is it I can do for you?”

“I’m working on a cold case. I believe that an Agent Alexander Harris has some information. I would like to get in touch with him.”

“What case is that, Agent?”

“It’s a child abduction case,” Don told him.

“Child trafficking?”

“Perhaps, I’m not sure.” At least this conversation had lasted longer than the mention of Alex’s name, Don thought. Maybe he would finally get somewhere.

“Agent Harris is a specialist. He doesn’t deal in trafficking. Perhaps I can put you in touch with an Agent…”

“No,” Don interrupted, “All my evidence so far says I need to talk to Agent Harris. Look he’s not in trouble. He may be a witness. I need to talk with HIM.”

“I can give you the number of the Interpol Office in Cleveland, Ohio. Beyond that Agent Eppes. I’m afraid I cannot help you.”

“That would be helpful, Thank you.”

“Their number is 888-555-9753.”

“Thank you Agent Delacroix.” Don said and hung up the phone.

Don immediately called the number given to him. It rang several times before a breathless giggling girl answered.

“Watcher’s Council. We help the helpless. Lily speaking.”

Don was a little taken back. This didn’t sound like Interpol. The girl sounded too young. “I’m sorry, I think I may have the wrong number. Is this 888-555-9753?

“Yeah, that’s us.”

“I’m looking for Interpol Agent Alexander Harris.”

“Xan isn’t here. He’s been gone a week. It’s been a real bummer around here without him.”

“Lily, what are you doing?” Don heard an adult male voice with an english accent say.

“The phone rang and nobody was here so I answered,” Lily said.

“And you should have come and gotten me immediately,” English accent said, “Give me the phone.”

“Hello, Rupert Giles here, I apologize for that, how may I help you?

“I’m FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Eppes. I’m not sure I have the right number, I’m looking for Interpol Agent Alexander Harris.”

“What is your business with Agent Harris?”

“I’m working a cold case, I believe that Agent Harris may have vital information.”

Giles knew obfuscation when he heard it. The agent, if he was an agent, was hiding something. “When and where did this cold case happen?” Giles asked.

Don gave a silent moan. Why was it so hard for him to get an address for Alex. First the runaround at Interpol’s head office now this. He hadn’t worked with Interpol often, but when he had the cooperation was immediate. “I need to talk to Agent Harris about that. If he’s unable to come to the FBI Office in L.A. I can go to wherever he is. Is there a number I can reach him at or an address where he is located? Either will be fine.”

“May I have your name and badge number Agent?”

Who ever this guy was he was very cautious. “I’m FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Eppes badge number 7023. Supervisor of L.A.s Major Crimes Division.

“Thank you Agent, I’ll be in touch.” Giles ended the call.

Don stared at the phone. He couldn’t believe he had been hung up on. He had easier times tracking down criminals. Well there was more than one way to skin a cat. He called Meghan into the conference room. “Meghan I need you to track down an address for this phone number. It has to do with my missing brother.” He handed her a slip of paper with the number on it. “It should be listed under Interpol in Cleveland.”

“There’s an Interpol Office in Cleveland?”

“Apparently there is. Although I just called the number and they answered as something called the Watcher’s Council. See what you can find and get back to me as soon as possible.”

******

Giles’ Office

******

Giles wanted to know why an FBI Agent wanted to speak to Xander. It was particularly odd because they didn’t put a Major Crimes agent on cold cases. Whoever it was put all of Giles’ instincts on alert. He picked up the phone and called a friend. In Washington D.C.

“Special Agent Roberts. How may I help you.”

“Carl it’s Rupert.”

“Rupert, long time no see, or hear.”

“Yes sorry about that. I’m afraid, I’m calling with a problem.”

“What can I help you with Rupert. You know I owe you.”

“I just got a call from a man claiming to be a Supervisory Agent Don Eppes of L.A. I’m wondering if the Agent really exists.”

“Hold on I’ll look it up… Yes I have him listed. He’s real. He’s been with us almost fifteen years and has an excellent close rate. What made you think it was a prank call?”

He was vague as to what it was about.”

“Well Rupert, your work is not exactly mainstream. He was probably just protecting his ass.”

“Thanks Carl. I owe you one.”

“No we’re even. Don’t be such a stranger Rupert.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

@@@@@@@

Jim’s Loft  
That Evening

*******

The four men were sitting around the kitchen table having a home cooked meal when Xander’s phone rang. Xander pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was Giles calling.

“I have to answer this,” he told everyone. He didn’t bother to leave the table he knew that the Sentinels could hear it anyway. “Xander here. What’s up G-man?”

“Xander I got a rather odd call today from an FBI Agent Don Eppes looking for you.”

“For me...Why?”

“He was rather vague on that regard. He said he thinks you were a witness in a cold case of child abduction.”

“Well I don’t know anything about that.”

“I checked him out. There is an agent by that name working in the L.A. office. He said he’ll go to you but I didn’t want to send him without you knowing. Is there any chance you can take a break from your work in Cascade and go to L.A.?”

“We’re pretty much done here. Jim and Blair are quick studies. We’ll go see what this is about. I’d hate for it to be about a demon abducting children and he just doesn’t want to come off as crazy over the phone.”

“That was my feeling too.” Giles said. “But it doesn’t explain why you’re the only one he would talk to.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it Giles. I promise. Don’t tell him we’re coming. I don’t want any undue attention called to him because two Interpol Agents are meeting with him.”

“Yes. I agree. Let me know what happens.”

Xander ended the call.

“Do you get calls like that often?” Jim asked.

“Not me. This was my first. Giles usually gets the calls.”

******

FBI Office L.A.  
The Next Afternoon

*******

Getting through security wasn't an issue for Spike and Xander. After going through the metal detector and showing their badges they went to the Reception Desk.

“We’re Interpol Agents Harris and Spikeman, Xander said pointing to himself then Spike and showing the agent their badges. “We’re here to speak with Agent Don Eppes.”

“What is this about?” the agent asked.

“He asked to speak to us about a child abduction case he’s working on,” Xander told him.

The desk agent called up to the third floor bullpen.

******

Don’s desk phone rang and he went to answer it. “Eppes.”

“Agent Eppes. This is Agent Sydney at Reception. I have Interpol Agents Harris and Spikeman here to speak with you about a case your working on.”

“Send them up please.” Don told the agent. He couldn't believe it, Alex was in the building. He knew he couldn't just come out and tell Alex he had been kidnapped and that they were brothers. Don grabbed the envelope with the paternity test in it and moved to the elevator to wait for the two agents.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The first out was Agent Sydney escorting two other men. The second off the elevator was a slim muscular blonde man who seemed very observant. He stood in the elevator doorway looking around. Then he took two steps forward to let the last occupant exit. The man that stepped forward was a taller broad shouldered brunette, wearing an eye patch. He stood one step behind the slim agent as if the smaller man was protecting him. Don froze and gasped when he saw the brunette.

Spike’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “What’s this about?” he demanded. “What do you want from Xander?” Spike knew without any doubt that Agent Eppes did want something from his Guide.

Don managed to clear the lump from his throat. “I'm Agent Don Eppes. Why don't we go to the conference room to talk privately? Follow me.” He led the way to the conference room with shaking legs and a pounding heart. He took several deep breaths trying to get himself under control.

Spike took Xander’s hand, their fingers intertwining. He bent and spoke into Xander’s ear. “This guy’s on the edge. I can smell it. Something's going on here. Don’t let him get between us.”

Spike let go of Xander’s hand and they followed Agent Eppes to the Conference Room.

Don opened the door and held it for the two men.

“You first,” Spike told Don.

Don went in and took a seat at the far end of the table. He put the envelope with the DNA report down in front of him.

Once the door closed Spike jumped right in. “It’s pretty obvious that the story about a child abduction was a load of BS. What do you want with Xander?”

“You’re wrong about the child abduction being BS. There was an abduction only it was over twenty-five years ago,” Don slid the brown envelope to Xander. “My brother was kidnapped from a park when he was a year and a half old. I was six at the time. Agent Harris, you’re my brother. I used our father's DNA and the DNA you have on file with Interpol to confirm it. There’s no mistake. You are my brother.”

Xander laughed out loud. “Well I didn’t see that coming.”

“I know it’s a shock. My dad lost hope of ever finding you, but I didn’t. I couldn't, I wouldn’t give up. It’s most of the reason I became an agent. It just took me till now to work up the courage to find the truth. A recent case just helped to bring it all back for me.”

“So what is it you want?” Xander asked, people always wanted something.

“I want our family made whole,” Don said. “Dad’s still alive. Mom passed from cancer a little over a year ago and you have a younger twin brother. His name is Charlie.”

“How do we know your telling the truth here Agent Eppes?” Spike asked trying to get control of the conversation. Spike picked up Xander’s hand under the table and once again intertwined their fingers.

Don took offence at the comment and answered Spike by pulling a photo out of his pocket that had sat on his dresser for over twenty years. “Here. It's a picture of me, you and Charlie on my sixth birthday. We went to the beach and played in the sand all day.”

Spike took the photo with his free hand and looked at it. The older boy in the photo looked like Don. There were two very young toddlers playing next to him one looking towards the camera the other only in profile. Both had dark wavy almost curly hair.

“I’d like to have an independent paternity test done. Not that I don’t trust you, but...well I’ve run into some really bad shit in my life. You should know I don’t have any money. I don’t need another crappy parent telling me what a loser I am.”

“Our dad’s not like that. He just needs to know you’re okay. He wants to be there for you. He’s not out for anything. Dad was an L.A. City Planner for thirty years. Now he has a successful building consultation firm. Charlie is a tenured Math Professor at Cal Sci. I’m a successful FBI Agent and been with the Bureau almost fifteen years. We don’t want money.”

Spike lifted their intertwined hands from underneath the table. “Xander and I are together. That’s not going to change. Before we go any further I need to know now if you have a problem with that.”

“No. I don't care either way. Dad might raise an eyebrow and ask if you're happy; Charlie may dive into a math problem in the garage for a week or so while he processes. But no we won't have any issues with the two of you being together.” Don replied.

“We’re not going to be meeting the family until we know they don't have a problem with it,” Spike said. “I’m not putting Xander through ten seconds of someone not accepting us. A week in the garage is seven days too long.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Don said. “Just one question ‘Xander’ can I call you Alex? It’s what we called you as a baby. To me you'll always be Alex.”

“That boy doesn’t exist anymore. I’ve spent my life as Xander. It's my identity. You did say you didn’t want anything from me, didn’t you? But the first thing you do is ask me to change my name. You’re the one that will have to adjust. I don’t think it's fair to ask me to do it. I can tolerate Alexander, but if it means anything to you I prefer Xander. I have never been Alex.”

Don flinched at the last comment of never being Alex. He had always been Alex to him and his father.

“Spike, I want you to go with Agent Eppes and get the DNA from Mr. Eppes. I’ll wait here and call Giles to see if there is an independent lab nearby to do the test.” Xander turned to Don. “Will that be okay with you?”

“If that’s what you need. I’ll do it.” Don told them.

Spike stood up. “Let’s go, the sooner we get this done the better.”

“Give me a minute to tell my team you'll be hanging out in here for a bit.“ Don stood up as well and moved to the door. He glanced back at ‘Xander’ before opening the door and walking out.

Spike leaned over and kissed his soulmate. “You going to be okay?” he asked.

“Hey, sitting here for a while beats a night in my parents basement.”

******

Don turned out of the parking lot onto the street. “How long have you two been together?”

“We’ve known each other for years, but I Claimed him as my own three months ago,” Spike told him.

Don was shocked then he started to frown. Claimed had a bad sound to it.

Spike snorted knowing the reaction Don had to the statement. “I’m a Sentinel, Xander’s my Guide. Sentinel’s Claim their Guides for life.”

“I don’t know what any of that means.”

“All you need to know is Xander and I are soulmates.”

“Do you know how he lost his eye?”

“Yeah, I know. I was there. It’s not a pretty story.”

“Charlie and I were wondering why he wears an eyepatch instead of a glass eye.”

“His eye wasn’t surgically removed. It was gouged out by a thumb. There was too much scar tissue and eye socket damage, an eye patch is a better choice for him.”

“I guess he wasn’t lying about...I’m sorry things have been so bad for him.”

“He won't appreciate your pity. He just wants to be accepted for how he is today.”

“Do you know if the people that brought him up are still alive? If they’re the kidnappers; I want them brought to justice.”

“Xander never mentioned them after he moved out of their basement. I don’t know what happened to them. I don’t think he does either.”

“Did you know them?”

“Not really, I heard their drunken arguments often enough when I was bunking in the basement with Xander. I was between places at the time. Xander offered me the recliner. He slept on the pull out bed.”

“I know he was a survivor of Sunnydale. The people that brought him up, could they have been killed when the sinkhole hit?”

“I don’t think so, most of the town was empty when that happened. There was only the busload of people that escaped left.”

“You sound like you were there too.”

Not wanting to get into that conversation any further, Spike changed the subject, “How far to your father’s house?”

“Technically, it’s Charlie’s house. He bought it from dad last year, now my dad lives with Charlie. It’s just around the next corner.”

******

Spike and Don got out of the car and walked to the house. Don called out as always when he entered and checked the mail on the table.

“I’m in here, Don,” Alan called. “Another early day? This is getting to be a habit.” he turned from the TV and saw the stranger standing in the living room. “Oh, we have company. Are we playing safe house again?”

“No dad, this is Interpol Agent William Spikeman. He’s Alexander Harris’s partner.”

Alan stood up and looked around. “Is Alex here?”

“No dad. He isn't ready to see you and Charlie yet. He wants an independent paternity test first.”

“Fine, I’ll do it, and then he’ll meet us?”

“There’s a couple of other things,” Don said.

“Fine. Anything. What are they?”

“When I said, Agent Spikeman and Agent Harris were partners it goes further than that. They’re life partners too.”

“Life partners? Do you mean same sex marriage?”

“We never took the vows,” Spike said. “But yes, we're soulmates.”

“Is Alex happy?” Alan asked, “I mean soulmates, they should be happy.”

“We’re very happy.” Spike said.

“Then that’s all I care about,” Alan answered the original statement.

“There’s one other thing dad. Alex goes by the nickname ‘Xander’ now. He wants to be called Xander.”

“That’s the name the kidnappers gave him!” Alan said. “He’s Alex.”

“No, not the kidnappers,” Spike told them. “His best friend, Willow, gave him that name. They met in kindergarten. She couldn't pronounce Alexander so she called him Xander. He’s been that to all his friends ever since.”

“Dad, this isn’t easy for Xander either. He thought he was coming to help on a case. He didn’t know he’d been kidnapped. We have to respect his wishes. You and I remember him as Alex; but he doesn’t remember us.”

“Okay,” Alan said. “As long as it wasn’t the kidnappers that gave him the name I can live with it. Who's to say he wouldn’t have met someone like Willow living with us and the same thing happened.”

At that moment Charlie walked in the front door, “Hey, dad. Don I saw the car in the drive. Any word yet on Alex? Who’s this?”

Spike’s nostrils flared and his pupils dilated when he caught Charlie’s scent. In that instant he knew that Don had been telling them the truth. This was Xander’s family. He had a father and two brothers that really seemed to be worried about him. Spike pulled out his phone and said “Excuse me, I need to make a call. I'm going to go out front.” He walked out the front door as he hit the speed dial for Xander.

“Charlie,” Alan said. “There’s some things you should know. Don found Alex and the man that just left is his life partner. If you have a problem with that your brother won’t meet with us.”

“He’s gay?”

“I guess you could call it that.” Don stated.

“Dad, I’m a college professor. I deal with gay men and women every day. Why on earth would you think I had a problem with it?”

“Xander and Spike set it as a condition of meeting the two of you. The other is an independent lab test for paternity.” Don told his youngest brother.

“Xander?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah, he goes by Xander.” Don said with a shrug. ”He’s pretty adamant about it too.”

“I don’t remember Alex; so calling him Xander won’t be a problem for me.”

******  
TBC


	7. Chapter 7

FBI Office

******

Meghan was waiting to get on the elevator when the door opened. Larry stepped off and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re early,” she said.

“Only ten minutes,” Larry answered.

“I have to take this to the evidence room,” Meghan said holding up an envelope. “I’ll be right back. Have a seat at my desk.”

Larry walked into the bullpen, he glanced around to see if Don or Charlie were there. He noticed Charlie in the conference room, his back to the bullpen, he was talking on his cell phone. Larry watched as Charlie ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket. He was curious, usually when Charlie was here he was working on a case at the whiteboard. He decided to go over and say hello.

“Hey, Charlie,” Larry called as he walked into the conference room.

A young man with an eye patch turned around. Larry froze for a moment at the unexpected sight, “Alex,” he said out loud. He hadn’t intended to say it out loud. It just came out of him unbidden. “I...um...I’m sorry I thought you were Charlie.” He squinted at the young man. “You know,” Larry said shaking a finger from his right hand at Xander and laying a finger from his left hand on his chin. “You do look a lot like him especially from the back. Same body shape, same color hair, but now that I’m close, I should have known. You have a different wave to your hair and a different fashion sense.”

“You should have seen me when I was going through my clown pants faze,” Xander said with a smile.

“Larry!” Meghan had a definite no nonsense tone to her voice. “What are you doing? I told you to wait at my desk.”

“I just came over to say ‘Hi’ to Charlie,” Larry said, “and I met this young man.”

“Are you taking me to lunch or not?” Meghan said pulling Larry by the arm out the door.

“But I think that may be Alex Eppes, Don’s lost brother.” Larry said as he tried to pull back on Meghan’s persistent tug.

“So does Don,” Meghan said through clenched teeth.

Larry planted his feet. “You mean...I...Oh...I...I have to apologize to Don. Oh my what have I done?” Larry turned and watched the young man as he took his phone from his pocket and answered a call.

“I’m getting you out of here,” Meghan said. “Don’s not in the office. You’ll have to apologize later.”

******  
Phone Call

******

“Spike is everything okay?” Xander asked when he answered his phone.

“It’s good Luv, better than I expected.”

“I talked to Giles. We’re pretty sure we know what happened with the kidnapping, it all fits together and answers a lot of weird questions about the behavior of my parental units. I’ll tell you about it when I see you. Anyway, Giles gave me the name of a reliable lab.”

“That’s great Xan, I’m glad you figured it out. I called because I don’t think we need another paternity test. I met your twin brother. His scent, it's really close to yours. I’ve never picked up another scent that close. He looks a lot like you, from a distance I think most people would have a hard time telling you apart. And your dad...he tends to talk in run on sentences, just like you when you get excited. These are good people, they care about you.”

“I did just have an odd guy come in here trying to say ‘Hi’ to Charlie. He said we look alike from the back, but up close he could see the difference. And before you ask, not bad odd just human eccentricities odd.”

“Look Xan, If you want I’ll come with Don and we’ll bring you here. Or we’ll stay with plan ‘a’ and get another paternity test, but I don’t sense any deceit from them.”

“You’re sure about skipping the paternity test?” Xander asked.

“I’m sure.”

“How long will it take for you to get back here?”

“I can pick you up in about twenty to twenty five minutes.”

“Okay than. I’ll be downstairs in the lobby when you get here.”

Spike ended the call and went back into the house. When he got there he found the three Eppes chatting together. Spike cleared his throat and said “Excuse me.”

The three men looked at him and waited.

“I just called Xander, he’s willing to skip the second paternity test and come here now, if Don will take me to pick him up. There’s one thing I need to tell you. Xander is a high level empath. He can feel other people’s emotions. What he needs from you is to feel happy that you found him. All of you need to put any guilt you may have about what happened to Xander behind you. Xander will see it as him causing you pain. None of this was your fault. It’s the kidnapper’s fault and only the kidnapper’s fault.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Don said. “But we love him. We’re human, we feel what we feel.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking of us.” Alan said. “You don’t know what we went through. I’m his father, losing him tore my heart out.”

“I know you think I don’t know what I’m asking, but I do. I wasn’t planning on telling you this, but I think you need to know for your sake and Xander’s. I was there when Caleb gouged out Xander’s eye. I heard his screams. We were in a fight and it wasn’t going well for us. I was helping an injured girl out of the winery, moving slow so I wouldn’t cause her any more pain than she was already in. Maybe If I was faster I would have been there to stop it. Or maybe I should have taken the flank and made sure Xander was in front of me. Then I could have gotten to him before...There are a hundred different scenarios that ran through my head, all of them came from a false guilt. Xander doesn’t blame me. He feels grateful that I went back in and kept Caleb from taking his other eye. But he felt my guilt and I saw the pain it caused him. I don’t want you to see your son in pain. Pain that you caused because of your guilt Mr. Eppes, or you either Don. I’m not asking you to stop having feelings. I’m asking the two of you to stop feeling guilty. Anger, frustration, the pain of all the missed years, Xander can deal with that. He shouldn’t have to deal with your guilt too, especially since it’s false guilt.”

Alan was moved by what Spike had to say. “Understood, no guilt, but since you’re my Son-in-Law can I count on you to give me a metaphoric kick in the butt if it creeps in from time to time.”

“Metaphorical or literal,” Spike said with a smile. “You can count on me Mr. Eppes.”

“There’s a family rule,” Alan said, “Anyone who has my permission to kick me in the butt calls me Alan.”

“We better get going,” Don said with a smile. He and Spike walked out the front door to the car.

******

Xander’s Arrival

******

Xander was waiting in the lobby as promised when Don and Spike got back to the FBI. He got into the back seat and Spike switched to the back so they could sit together.

Spike took Xander’s hand, with their fingers intertwined, and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed each finger then he looked at the man he loved more than life. “Everything’s going to be okay, Pet, promise.”

“We haven’t had lunch yet and I know dad isn’t going to want to take time out of the meet and greet to cook.” Don called from the front seat. “I’m thinking I could go to a drive through. Do you prefer fried chicken or burgers?”

“Burgers sound good,” Xander said.

“Burgers it is. Whoppers with cheese and fries okay?” Don asked as he pulled into the drive through of a Burger King.

******

The smell of the food in the front seat filled the car. Spike turned down his scent dial but he could hear Xander's stomach churning and he wasn’t all that sure it was just hunger.

“Are you okay Xan?” Spike asked.

“I’m hanging in there,” Xander replied.

“I know this feels weird for you,” Don said, “But you have to remember that this is a dream come true for us.”

“I just don’t want to be a disappointment,” Xander said. “I have a twin brother that’s a college professor and I’m…”

“Stop it right now Xan,” Spike said with a hard edge to his voice. “I’m not going to let you wallow in that mud pit.” Spike’s voice softened. “You’re a good man Xander. You've done more for this world than they could ever know. You are a smart, strong, handsome man. You deserve a blood family. This one sure seems to care for you already.”

Don heard the exchange in the back, he didn’t know what Spike meant by Xander doing more for the world than they could ever know, but he did know that comparing himself to Charlie was not a good road to go down. “Xander, you could never be a disappointment to us. Don’t compare yourself to Charlie. He’s not perfect, he’s human. We all are. We fight with each other, we laugh with each other and sometimes we wonder how we’re going to make things work. But we’ve never stopped loving each other because that’s what families do.”

******

Don pulled into the driveway of the craftsman home a little over an hour after he had left. The ride had been quiet after their exchange. Xander sat with his head on Spike’s shoulder, holding hands and talking softly with Spike. Don shut off the engine and turned in his seat to look at his brother, “Okay guys we're here. No need to be nervous Xander. Dad and Charlie are going to love you, They already do.”

Xander squeezed Spike’s hand. He took a deep breath, closed his eye and said to himself, “I can do this. Nothing crazy here. I can do this.”

Spike opened the car door and gave Xander’s hand a little tug. “Come on, Xan. Head up and proud.” Spike told him. “These are good men.” He decided to nip any of Xander’s resistance in the bud and pulled Xander out of the car. Spike kept a strong grip on Xander’s hand and led the way up the walk to the door while Xander continued his “I can do this,” chant under his breath.

Don was waiting at the door with the burgers, he opened it and Spike led Xander in.

“Dad, Charlie, this is Xander.” Don told his father and brother as he entered the house behind them and closed the door.

***

Alan and Charlie jumped up and went to the entryway as soon as they heard the car in the drive. They stood frozen a few feet back form the door unsure of what to do. Then Don opened the door and Alan and Charlie rushed forward. Alan reached the group first. He stopped right in front of Xander and just stared. “Al… Um I mean Xander. I can't believe it… I gave up hope.” He finally stopped staring and reached out to Xander. “My boy. My boy” a tear rolled down his cheek.

***

Xander, unused to comforting touches from anyone other than Spike and his girls, just stood still waiting for Alan to touch him, or not. He would let the older man make the choice. Alan grabbed Xander and pulled him into a hug. As soon as his father touched him, Xander could feel his emotions. He could feel his father’s love for him, he could feel the high his father was riding at seeing his lost child, and he could feel the pain and guilt Alan was feeling at not having been around to see Xander grow up and not having a relationship with his son.

Xander lifted his arms and hugged his dad back “It’s not your fault, dad. You couldn't have changed what happened. We have the rest of our lives to make up for it.” Xander said, quietly soaking in the hug and the feeling of love he was getting from his father.

“Yeah,” Alan said peeking over Xander shoulder to look at Spike. “Spike already read Don and I the riot act about feeling guilty.”

“Pot calling the kettle black?” Xander asked glancing at Spike.

Alan stepped back but kept his hands on Xander’s shoulders. “Not exactly. That’s a good man you have there. He told us about the pot being black.”

Xander turned his head back to look at Spike.

“Just the Cliff Notes version, Luv.”

Charlie cleared his throat.

“Oh, yeah,” Alan said letting go of one of Xander's shoulders and stepping to the side. “This is your twin brother, Charlie.”

Alan stepped away and Charlie took his place in front of Xander. They nodded to each other and then just stared. It was like looking in a mirror but it wasn't a perfect reflection. They each examined the other. Charlie had almost tightly curled short dark brown hair and brown eyes. Xander had more wavy dark brown hair, a little longer in length than his brothers, and one brown eye.

The brothers finally reached out to shake hands. When they touched Xander could feel Charlie’s awe at having another part of himself. The love and joy of a new bother.

When they let go Xander turned to Don. He was standing next to Charlie still holding the bag of burgers. Xander reached out for him and Don took his hand. Xander finally felt what Don was feeling, how he felt complete for the first time in over twenty years, his anger at the kidnappers for taking his brother away from him and anger at himself for taking so long to look for him. But most of all Xander felt the love Don had for him and the happiness of having him back.

Not able to take anymore Xander pulled Don into a big hug and held on tight. Spike stepped forward and took the burger bag from Don so he could give a proper hug back. Not wanting to pass up the moment Alan and Charlie joined in on either side hugging both Don and Xander. Spike couldn’t resist this happy moment. He put down the burger bag and pulled out his phone. This was a moment that needed to be commemorated, he took the first photos of the Eppes family finally together again.

******

The family sat around the table eating their burgers and fries and talking about things not Xander. Xander didn’t mind, in fact he preferred it. He wanted to hear about his family. They talked about the craftsman house and then they talked about his mom. They talked about Alan’s city planning career and Don’s attempt at a baseball career and they talked about Charlie’s acceptance to Princeton. After they finished lunch Alan brought out the box of pictures. It was odd for Xander to see pictures of himself so young.

“How old was I when I was taken?” Xander asked. It was the first question he had asked about his childhood.

“Eighteen months,” Alan told him. “Do you have any childhood pictures of yourself. I know that Sunnydale went into a sinkhole, but I figured it was worth asking.”

“Sorry, no,” Xander said. “My parental units weren’t big on picture taking. Willow might have some. Her parents took lots of pictures and I was her best friend. I’ll ask her.”

“You don’t have to call your parents parental units to spare us,” Alan said. “It’s okay to call them your parents.”

“I’m not,” Xander said. “They were alcoholics and I knew they didn’t love me. Calling them parental units is a coping mechanism for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Alan said.

“Don’t be,” Xander said. “If I hadn’t been kidnapped I wouldn’t be an Interpol Agent today. I wouldn’t have met Willow, or Giles, or Spike. I made peace with having bad parents years ago. Besides Willow and I had each other. Her parents were great but they had their career. Sometimes they got a little distracted.”

Everyone heard a car pull into the driveway. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. Alan went to answer.

“Hi Alan,” Larry said. “I saw Don’s car, I need to talk to him.”

Larry walked into the house. He saw no one in the living room so he turned his attention to the dining room. “Oh my,” he gasped.

“Larry, the young man with the eye patch is my son Xander,” Alan told him. “The man sitting next to him is his life partner, Spike.”

“I came to apologize to Don, but I guess I’m too late,” Larry said.

“Apologize for what?” Don asked.

Larry looked at Xander, “You didn’t tell him?”

“Was I supposed to?” Xander asked.

“Okay, timeout,” Alan said. “Xander this is Larry, he’s family.”

“Dutch uncle,” Charlie said. ”He was my student adviser at Princeton.”

“More the uncle part than the Dutch part,” Don said.

“So what is this all about Larry?” Alan asked.

“I met...Xander at the FBI. I called him Alex and compared him to Charlie,” Larry told them. “I wasn’t thinking, Don, I didn’t mean to step on your...plan.”

“No harm done, Larry,” Don said. He remembered the conversation in the car. “Maybe it’s Xander you should be apologizing to. You said you compared him to Charlie.”

Larry looked at Xander. “I don’t think I said anything insulting. Did I?”

“No insult intended and none taken,” Xander said.

“Now we got that out of the way,” Alan said, “come in and sit down, Larry. Are you staying for supper?”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“Nonsense, you’re family, you’ll stay.”

******

After Supper

******

“So, we’re all curious why does Interpol need an office in Cleveland of all places?” Alan asked.

“This pie is really good,” Xander said. “Spike you should get the recipe.”

“Well now I know you’ve accepted me as your dad, because you’re treating me just like Don when he doesn’t want to answer a question about his work.”

“Maybe he can’t tell you,” Don said. “It could be classified.”

“Classified in Cleveland; sounds like a great name for a sitcom.” Alan said. “So what is it, Xander, classified or is it just none of my damn business?”

“Neither, my work is difficult to explain and you probably wouldn’t believe me,” Xander said.

“Difficult how?” Larry asked. “We’re not a bunch of slouches in the brain department.”

Xander took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay then. Do you know what ley lines are?”

“Sure they’re imaginary lines of force that surround the surface of the planet,” Larry said.

“Except they’re not imaginary, they’re real,” Xander told him.

“Scientists have tried to measure them,” Larry said. “EMF, gravity, every energy measurement tool we have, there’s nothing there.”

“You can’t measure brain waves with a refrigerator,” Xander said.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Don said.

“Sure it does,” Charlie said. “He saying that we don’t have the right tools to measure them.”

“Exactly,” Xander said.

“So what do ley lines have to do with Interpol?” Alan asked.

“If you imagine the lines that form a dodecahedron surrounding the earth…”

“Whoa,” Alan said, “Dodecahedron?”

“It’s one of the platonic solids, dad,” Charlie told him. “It has twelve pentagons.”

“That’s the one,” Xander said. “Now imagine that each pentagon has five lines crossing at its center. All those lines are the ley lines, except the dodecahedron around the earth isn’t perfect so some of those lines are missing. Anyway there are places where the ley lines cross each other and form a nexus. Cleveland is built on a pentagon that has five lines crossing at its center. The nexus energy sometimes causes problems. The Watchers Council monitors the ley line energy and when it acts up we deal with it.”

“How do you measure the energy? You must have a way or you wouldn’t know when it’s acting up.” Larry wanted to know.

“Have you ever made a direct measurement of dark energy?” Xander asked.

“Ahh,” Larry said shaking his finger at Xander. “You asked about a direct measurement. You know very well we only know it’s there because of the effect it has on the cosmos.”

“Do you doubt that dark energy exists?” Xander asked.

“No,” Larry said. “The effect is there, there has to be a cause. For lack of a better name we call it dark energy.”

“It's the same with the Watchers Council.” Xander told Larry. “They’ve known for thousands of years that something is there. They mapped the disturbances and drew lines from one to the other. For lack of a better name they called them ley lines. Would it make it easier for you to believe they exist if we change their name to lines of dark energy?”

“You’ve made your point,” Larry said once more shaking his finger at Xander. “But you still haven’t told us how you know when a nexus is acting up.”

“There are warning signs,” Xander said. “You have to know what to look for.”

“You still haven’t told us what you do,” Alan said. “You’ve only told us why you do it in Cleveland. What exactly happens when a nexus acts up?”

“That’s the part you won’t believe.” Spike said. He really wanted to spare Xander having his new found family thinking that he’s insane. “Maybe it’s better we don’t get into that.”

“No,” Xander said to Spike. “I’ve been explaining this stuff to Slayer’s parents for years. I’m not going to evade it just because it’s my own family. Either they’ll believe it or they won’t.”

“Slayers, that sounds ominous.” Don said.

“Slayers are the first line of defense in what we do. They’re the warriors. Sometimes a nexus opens. You can call the opening anything you want. The Watchers Council calls it a Hellmouth. Bad things come out. Very bad things. We call them demons. The Slayers slay them. Spike and I are Watchers and Spike is also a Champion.”

“I prefer the term Sentinel, Luv.”

“So you ‘Watch’ for the openings and then you send the Slayers in?” Alan asked.

“Yes,” Xander said. “But for thousands of years there was only one Slayer in the world, so demons got out. They’re living among us. When we can, we track down the bad ones and kill them.”

“I can accept the possible existence of ley lines,” Larry said. “But I have to draw the line at demons.”

“Okay so call them extraterrestrials that arrived through an energy convergence.”

Larry squinted at Xander and once more shook a finger at him. “You’re really good at this aren’t you?”

‘’Well it’s a lot easier explaining it to a scientist,” Xander said.

“So have you ever seen a demon?” Charlie asked.

“I lost count a long time ago. It was a demon that kidnapped me,” Xander said. “I talked to Giles, he’s Director of the Watchers Council, he believes it was a Mantis Demon that took me, paid my… parental units to take care of me until I was a teenager. She came back for me, but Buffy killed her before she could eat me.”

“Your mother would have noticed if some inhuman thing that ate teenagers were walking around in broad daylight.”

“The demon could appear as human and she had the ability to make a buzzing sound that would put a human into an absence seizure. My mother would not have even known she was there, or that she had been in a seizure.”

“Oh my God,” Alan said. “That’s what Margret told me. She pushed the swing and then you were just gone.”

“That’s why there were never any leads to follow,” Xander said.

“You never knew you’d been kidnapped,” Charlie asked.

“I suppose there were clues in hindsight,” Xander said. “But I was just a kid and my ‘parental units’ were alcoholics so I just thought that I had lousy parents.”

“When’s the last time you saw one of these demons?” Alan asked.

“A few days ago in Cascade, Washington. I killed one that had killed five people, that we know of,” Xander told them.

“And where were you when my son was facing off with a mass murder?” Alan asked Spike none too gently.

“Hey,” Xander said. “If you think Spike would let me go after a demon alone you’re wrong. He grabbed it and held it.”

“How hard is it to find a demon?” Don asked.

Xander knew what was coming next. He looked at Spike. He didn’t have to ask a question. Spike would know what Don wanted. He wanted to see a demon for himself.

“We’re in L.A. Luv. We can give him a crash course and take him to a demon bar. I don’t think he’ll be satisfied with anything less.”

******

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

“Pull over here,” Spike said as he pointed to the curb. “Caritas is right there.”

Don pulled over, put the car in park and looked around. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like there’s anything here.”

“Demons don’t drive,” Spike said. “They walk. Plus as I told you earlier this place is warded. Humans can’t see the opening or the sign and there’s no violence allowed inside.”

Just then something the shape of a linebacker in full pads wearing an Oakland Raiders jacket walked to the building and disappeared through the wall.

“What the hell?” Don said not believing his eyes.

“You just saw your first demon,” Xander said.

“Demons wear Oakland Raiders jackets?” Don asked.

“If you were driving down the street and saw him, you’d think it was just some fat guy, a demon would never enter your mind.” Spike looked at Don and said. “You don’t have to go in. We can just sit here and watch them go in and come out.”

Don realized the car was still running he turned off the engine. “You’re right I’m not sure of what I just saw. I’m going in.”

The three men got out of the car, walked through a ‘wall’, down five steps, and then they were in a brightly lit karaoke bar. ‘That’s the Way I Like It’ was playing over the sound system and a gray demon with cheek horns was grunting out the lyrics.

“Spikeums!!” a well dressed green demon with red eyes yelled from the bar. He walked over and grabbed Spike by the shoulders. “We thought you were dead.”

“Not anymore,” Spike said with a smile. “I see the place is doing well.”

Suddenly the demon gasped and laid his green hand on Spike’s face then quickly pulled it away. “How?” he asked.

“Shanshu,” Spike told him. Xander cleared his throat. Spike turned and looked at him. “Lorne, this is my soul mate Xander and his brother Don. Xander, Don, this is The Host, Lorne.”

The music ended and the gray demon walked over to The Host. “Congratulations,” Lorne told him. “Six healthy little ones.”

The demon grunted and walked away.

“Come and have a seat.” Lorne said. “Anyone back from the dead deserves a drink on the house. Sea Breeze for three?”

“That would be great,” Xander said as the three men took a seat at an empty table.

Don was having trouble following the conversation. What the hell was ‘Shanshu?’ and why did the green demon ‘Lorne’ ask Spike ‘how’? ‘How’ what? He was also trying to look at everything in the bar without looking like he was looking. Spike and Xander had vehemently warned him not to stare.

Lorne came back to the table with four Sea Breezes and he took a seat at the table.

“What did Angel say when he saw you?” Lorne asked.

“I haven’t seen him,” Spike said.

“Oh Spikeums, you have to go see him. I know you had your problems over the centuries but he was pretty torn up about losing his grandchilde. Especially since he was the one that was supposed to wear the amulet.”

“Centuries?...Grandchilde?” Don asked.

“They don’t know?” Lorne asked. “You should have given me a sign.”

“Xander knows. He grew up in Sunnydale.” Spike said. “We’re here because Don wants to know what the Watcher’s Council and his brother do for a living.”

“You didn’t grow up together?” Lorne asked Xander.

“He was kidnapped at eighteen months old,” Don answered. “A guy named Giles thinks that a Mantis Demon took him.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place,” Lorne said. “If you sing for me I can tell you what happened and why.”

“Really? You can do that? I’d know for sure?” Xander asked.

“For sure, Sweetums,”

“Wait a second. How can you know all that?” Don asked.

“Oh Sugarplum, I'm anagogical, means I can read people's lives and emotions in their auras but I can read them easier when they sing. Doesn't even have to be on key.” Lorne replied with a big smile.

Xander looked at Spike.

“It’s up to you, Luv,” Spike told him.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Xander got up and walked to the stage. He stopped at a podium to read the list of available songs then he found the perfect one, I’m a Believer, by Neil Diamond. Stepping up onto the stage he picked up the microphone and pushed the button. As the music started he turned to his soul mate and began to sing.

 _“I thought love was only true in fairy tales,_  
_Meant for someone else but not for me._  
_Love was out to get me,_  
_That’s the way it seemed,_  
_Disappointment haunted all my dreams._  
_Then I saw your face_  
_Now I’m a believer._  
_There’s not a trace of doubt in my mind._  
_I’m in love I’m a believer._  
_I'll never leave you, I’ll never try.”_

____

Spike got up and jumped onto the stage he took the microphone from Xander and looked him in the eye as he sang.

__

_“I thought love was more or less a giving thing._  
_Seemed the more I gave the less I got._  
_What’s the use of trying?_  
_All I got was pain._  
_When I needed sunshine I got rain._  
_Then I saw your face._  
_Now I’m a believer._  
_There’s not a trace of doubt in my mind._  
_I’m in love, I’m a believer_  
_I’ll never leave you, I’ll never try._ ”

Then the two of them sang together.

 _“I’m in love, I’m a believer_  
_There’s not a trace of doubt in my mind._  
_I’m in love I’m a believer._  
_I’ll never leave you, I’ll never try.”_

The music ended and Spike took Xander’s hand as they walked back to the table.

“Wow,” Lorne said as he wiped a tear from his eye. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were soul mates. But I guess you want to know about the kidnapping. Giles was right it was a Mantis Demon that took you. She overheard a prophecy that you were going to become ‘The One Who Sees.’ That would be very bad for a certain faction of the demon community so they were planning to kill you. The Mantis Demon uses virgin males to fertilize her eggs and she thought “The One Who Sees” would be a strong father for her offspring so she stole you and paid your parental units to take care of you until she came back. She knew no demon would suspect you were hiding on the Hellmouth, and the convergence of the dark energies would make you all the tastier when she ate you. She thought, since she was going to kill you after you fertilized her eggs, everything would be fine. She didn’t know that she was fulfilling the prophecy. If you hadn’t grown up on the Hellmouth you wouldn’t be the man you are today. You wouldn’t have been there to save the Slayer when she died. Spike wouldn’t be here to help the Sentinels come back to this reality and it wouldn’t evolve as it was meant to do. In many ways you were the key to all that was meant to be. It wasn’t the Slayer. It was you, Xander.”

Then turning to Spike he said, “Spike there’s something else. There is trouble heading to Cascade. You need to go back there or they will miss the warning signals.”

“Do you know when?” Spike asked.

“Tuesday,” Loren told him.”Spike, call in some Slayers. You're going to need them. I saw six Krowkec demons coming off a freighter called Betsy’s Dream.”

“Thanks Lorne. We’ll have to leave Sunday morning, Luv.” Spike said turning to Xander.

@@@@@@

Eppes Home  
Midnight  
******

When Don, Xander and Spike got back to the house Alan, Charlie and Larry were waiting for them.

“There’s no way Charlie or I could sleep,” Alan said, “Then Larry called so I told him he may as well come over and we could all not sleep together. So spill it. What happened?”

“Demons are real.” Don said.

Larry laid his fingers on his face. “You’re sure?”

“As sure as I am that you’re real, that this house is real, that this world is real. I heard one of them singing and one of them made a sea breeze for us.”

“I want to go tomorrow night,” Larry said.

“No,” Spike said. “Caritas isn't a tourist attraction.”

“I don't understand that,” Larry said. “I'm a scientist not a tourist.”

“Let me rephrase. Caritas is not a laboratory and demons aren’t cute little lab rats. Personally I find your mannerisms endearing, but Lorne’s customers would find them too human to tolerate. You don't want to piss off demons. Some swear blood feuds that make the Hatfields and McCoys look like a Sunday picnic.”

“Spike is right,” Don said. “We had a confrontation when we left.”

“What?” Alan said. “You said the place was warded against violence.”

“It is. Inside,” Xander said. “The demon was waiting for us when we left. Spike killed it, but going there is never risk free. The risk would be too great for Larry.”

“There are some questions that came up while we were there. Questions I’d like to have answers to now,” Don said. “Who’s Angel and why did The Host say you had differences with him over the centuries?”

“Angel is someone Spike used to work with. As for the rest it was a figure of speech,” Xander told his family.

Spike reached out and stroked Xander's arm. “Luv, you don't have to lie for me. Either they accept me or they don't. This is your blood family. They deserve the truth.” Spike turned and looked at Don. “I was a vampire in my last life. Angel was my Grandsire.”

The group was silent for a moment then Larry began to laugh and shake his finger at Spike.

“Oh, that's a good one. You almost had me.”

“It's not a lie,” Xander said. “I met Spike when he was a vampire. He tried to kill us all several times. Eventually he fought the Demon Trials to get his soul back. I fell in love with him then. We thought he died when he wore the amulet and closed the Hellmouth. Then Willow and Dawn found the Shanshu Prophecy. Dawn translated it and we found out that Spike could be called back as a human and here we are.”

“These people you work with, they can call someone back from the dead and all you have to say is ‘here we are’?” Alan said.

“Technically, the people I work with didn’t make him human again. He wore a magic Amulet that protected him when Sunnydale turned into the world’s largest sinkhole. It had to be worn by a Champion. Angel wasn’t available so Buffy had asked Spike to wear it. It was the Amulet that protected his soul and sent him back to us human.”

“I just realized something,” Larry said. “Angel is a vampire.”

Spike had noticed that that little gem of information had sailed over the family’s heads. He had hoped it would remain unnoticed, but Larry didn’t miss much, not for long anyway. “Yes, he is,” Spike answered knowing what was coming next.

“Then we can go meet him,” Larry said. “He’s your family and we’re Xander’s family. We should meet. It’s what in-laws do.”

“It would piss him off royally,” Spike said. “Ordinarily I’m for pissing off the ponce at every opportunity, but he doesn’t know I’m back and… Everyone thought the Shanshu was written about him. If I go there it would hurt him. It’s better he just thinks I’m dead.”

“The Host said he was torn up when he thought you died. He just might be really happy to see you,” Don said.

“Then it’s settled, we’re not going,” Xander said in a way that let his family know it was not up for discussion. “I’m not taking a chance on Angel being happy. Trust me on this. You don’t want to meet a happy Angel.”

“Is there something wrong with a vampire being happy?” Larry asked.

“There is for Angel. He’ll lose his human soul and become evil again. He’s the worst vampire the Watchers have on record.”

Larry frowned, he was trying to figure out how he could see a demon. Spike had the feeling that Larry would not give up on his quest. It was Don that changed the subject.

“What does “The One Who Sees” mean?” Don asked.

“I thought it referred to me not having any powers like the Slayers or Willow. But because I don’t have any special powers, I fly under the radar and I’m able to see things that others don’t notice. But now that I’ve become a Watcher and The Host said there was a prophecy that the demons did not want to come true, I wonder if it means I was destined to become a Watcher.”

“Lorne did say it would be bad for the big nasties,” Spike said. Xander yawned. “You need to get some sleep Luv.”

“We all do,” Alan said.

******

2 A.M.  
After Caritas Closing

******

When Xander sang he saw his FBI brother Don, Xander, Spike and Angel working together. When Spike sang Lorne saw that he would never go see Angel on his own. Things were not going to go well in L.A. if Spike and Angel didn’t have a working relationship. As a rule Lorne did not get involved with what he saw. It was his job to inform, but it wasn’t very often that he got to see both sides of things. So this time he would make an exception to his rule and force the issue.

******

Lorne walked into the Hyperion.

“Lorne,” Cordy said. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to Angel.”

Wesley came out of his office when he heard Lorne’s voice. “He’s out on patrol. He left twenty minutes ago,” Wesley told him. “What’s going on?”

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Lorne asked.

“He usually gets back a little before dawn.” Wesley said. “What’s going on Lorne? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing wrong yet. I’m just trying to avoid a quagmire.”

“How time sensitive is it?” Wesley asked.

“It needs to be taken care of before sunset today.”

Wesley pulled out his smart phone and sent Angel a text. Seven minutes went by with no answer and then Angel came through the door.

“Lorne, what’s going on?” Angel asked. “I knew it was too quiet out there to be true.”

Now that Angel was standing right in front of him he didn’t know how to approach the subject. He looked at his friend. “Okay Angel, the only way to do this is just come out with it. Spike is alive, and by alive I mean a full 98.6 degrees with a heartbeat. He came into Caritas tonight and sang for me.”

“Thanks for the information Lorne,” Angel said. He turned and looked at Wesley. “I’m going to finish my patrol.”

“Angelcakes,” Lorne said. “You don’t understand…”

“I understand just fine,” Angel said. “He’s human now. I’m not his grandsire any more. The things I did to him...I hope he’s at peace and doesn’t remember them.”

“That’s just it,” Lorne said. “He’s melded with his demon. He hasn’t forgotten anything. He hasn’t come to see you because he doesn’t want to hurt you. Xander hasn’t encouraged him to come because he’s afraid you’ll be so happy to see Spike you’ll lose your soul.”

“Hurt me? Spike never cared about hurting me and what does Xander have to do with this?”

“Xander is Spike’s soul mate. He’s claimed Xander as his own. Look this whole thing is tied up with the Powers, a couple of prophecies, and something called The Department of Cosmic Intervention. I know what I saw, Angel. This world is out of balance. Spike was sent to help get it back in balance. You need to mend your differences with Spike now or within a year L.A. won’t be a fit place for humans to live.”

“Okay,” Angel said. “Where is he? I'll go tomorrow night.”

“You have to go tonight,” Lorne said. “Xander’s family is taking him out to dinner tomorrow night and I didn’t see where.”

“Those drunkards are still alive?” Angel said getting angry on Xander's behalf.

“Not them. His biological family. Xander was kidnapped and left with the Harris’. He just found his blood family. Well they found him. I saw where they live. I can take you there.”

“It’s after 2AM” Angel said.

“I know but you’re a vampire. You can’t go during daylight.”

******

Eppes Home

******

Spike was the first to wake to the knocking at the door. A few seconds after that Xander awoke.

“Bloody hell,” Spike said. “Angel’s here. Lorne must have told him.” Spike pulled on a pair of pants and started down stairs barefoot and shirtless.

“Can you tell if it’s Angel or Angelus?” Xander asked as he pulled on a pair of pants and followed him.

“It’s Angel.” Spike said as he pulled the door open.

Angel and Lorne stood at the door. “Sorry, Sweetums,” Lorne said. “This is too important. I couldn’t let it go.”

“We need to talk,” Angel said.

“It will have to be outside.” Spike told him. “I can’t invite you in, it’s not my house.”

Spike and Xander had forgotten that Larry had opted to sleep on the living room sofa instead of driving home so late. Suddenly the living room light turned on and Larry came to the door. “I’ll get Charlie and Alan. They can invite you in and we can all have some tea.”

Spike stepped out the door and took Angel’s arm. “This way,” He said as he let him to the backyard and several garden chairs. “Have a seat, Angel.”

“Lorne filled me in on the way over here.” Angel said. “He told me you melded with your demon. I didn’t think that was possible.”

“You’re going to notice it more and more. I’m a Sentinel, I kept all my demon abilities, but I’m human. Sentinels need a Guide to keep them in balance. Xander is my Guide.”

“Spike, I’m not hurt or angry. You wore the Amulet, you got to come back human.”

“Angel, I know how much you wanted this.”

“It’s true I wanted it, but I never really believed it,” Angel said. “It was no more than a pipe dream.

Alan walked to the backyard wrapped in a coat. “Ah, fellas. It’s cold out here. You should come in, I’ll make some tea.”

“Thanks Alan,” Spike said. “We’re fine out here but you might offer Lorne tea.”

“Larry’s taken care of that. Except he’s trying so hard not to use his hands that he’s stuttering. I don’t know what’s more annoying for a demon, having a finger shaken at him or the stuttering. We really need you Spike before things get out of hand.”

“I didn’t mean to wake the whole family. I should be going. I’m still at the Hyperion. Promise me you’ll get in touch as soon as you can.” Angel stood up and pulled a business card out of his pocket. “Take this and call. Promise me.”

Spike stood up and took the card. “Okay Angel, I promise.”

Angel leaned in and whispered in Spikes ear. “I can feel you Spike. You’re still my grandchilde.” Angel walked up to the house and called through the open door. “Lorne, we’re leaving.”

Lorne stood up from the table and offered his hand to Charlie and Larry. “It was nice to meet you.”

Xander accompanied Lorne to the door. “Thanks for coming.”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away Sweetums. If that man of yours starts to drag his feet tell him that he needs to make peace with Angel. Otherwise your family will lose this house and maybe a life or two.”

“I’m not going to drag my feet,” Spike said. “I gave Angel my word. He’d know if I were lying.”

Alan held out his hand. “Thanks for coming. You’re welcome to visit again. Maybe actually have that cup of tea.”

“I’d like that,” Lorne said. Then he and Angel walked to the car, got in and drove away.

******

Next Morning

******

Spike was in the kitchen helping Alan with the breakfast dishes while Xander called Giles.

“I know of The Host,” Giles said. “Wesley reported him to the Watcher’s Council. He said that the demon was very accurate. I think we should try to find out more about The One Who Sees prophecy. I’ll have Willow and Dawn look into it.”

“There’s something else,” Xander said. “Lorne saw six Krowkec demons arriving Tuesday by ship in Cascade. He said we’ll need Slayers to deal with them. Spike and I are heading back to Cascade tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll have to do some research on the Krowkec. I’ll send however many Slayers I think we’ll need to Cascade Monday. I think it will be good for Ellison and Sandburg to meet the Slayers. You said Ellison was a little skeptical about what they can do. We need to make sure he’s willing to call them when he needs them.”

“That sounds good Giles. I also need to tell you that Angel knows Spike's back. The Host thinks it’s important that Angel and Spike form an alliance. I think Angel might actually be open to it.”

“The council was wrong to shut Angel out. I believe he and his team can be a valuable asset. Maybe we can get Wesley back on the payroll.”

“There’s one more thing. My family wants to meet you, Willow, and Buffy.”

“Are they willing to come here? We can’t leave the Slayers without adult supervision.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.,” Xander told him.

*******  
TBC  
@@@@@@  
Authors note: Xander and Spike changed the lyrics to "I'm A Believer" just a bit. If you want to complain (or compliment them) please write to them via comments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @@@@@@  
> Authors note: Xander and Spike changed the lyrics to "I'm A Believer" just a bit. If you want to complain (or compliment them) please write to them via comments.


	9. Chapter 9

******  
Morning  
Breakfast  
The Eppes Home  
******

Morning had came too fast as far as Xander was concerned. He could have used a couple of hours more sleep. He had spent a good half hour talking to Spike about Angel’s visit and why Lorne went to Angel in the first place. The conversation could have lasted a lot longer but Spike felt Xander needed to get some Z’s so he nuzzled Xander’s neck and started purring. The tactic worked...It always did. Now it was morning and a whole list of things had to be done. First off he needed to call Giles.

******

After hanging up with Giles, Xander went to the kitchen. He grabbed some plates and silverware and helped Charlie set the table for a family breakfast.

“Are we all set?” Spike asked as he placed bottles of orange juice and milk on the table.

“The tickets will be waiting for us at the airport. We’ll be in Cascade by three pm. Four slayers will arrive Monday. We’ll have plenty of time to fill in Jim and Blair.”

“Giles is only sending four Slayers?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, that’s the other thing I need to tell you. Giles couldn’t get seven tickets on the plane to Cascade so Buffy, Willow, and Kennedy are flying in to L.A. today. We have to pick them up at LAX at four o’clock.”

Xander heard a sound from the front door. He looked up as Don came into the dining room. “Hey Don, good morning. Ready for some breakfast?” Xander asked as he placed the last plate on the table.

“Hey Don. Everyone's up. We’re just waiting on the food and Larry to get out of the bathroom. Dad and Spike are finishing up in the kitchen.” Charlie said as he placed the last glass on the table.

“I got the week off,” Don said. “I didn’t want to miss any time with my brother. I’ve decided I’m going to Cascade. I want to see what my brother actually does for a living.”

“I don’t think so Don.” Xander said. “The Slayers and Willow will take care of the demons. Spike and I will be there for backup. My new found brother will be a complication. They need to stay focused. They can’t be distracted by a civilian.”

“Civilian? I am a decorated federal agent with nearly fifteen years on the job.” Don almost yelled.

“Okay Don, then tell me how to recognize a Krowkec demon and how to kill it?” Xander asked.

“I don’t need to recognize it.” Don said. “Just point me in the right direction. Tell me what to do.”

“Xander,” Spike said. “He’s your brother, he just wants to help.”

“Don’t tell me your going to say he can come?” Xander asked.

“Let him come to Cascade. You and Don can wait at Jim’s loft. You’ll both be safe. I was going to have you sit this one out anyway.”

“After breakfast I’ll need your flight number to Cascade,” Don said. “I need to book my flight.”

“That’s enough arguing, boys,” Alan said. “Breakfast is ready. Eat now, argue later.”

“So what’s so special about these Krowkec demons,” Larry asked as he poured himself a glass of milk.

“They’re venomous, and very fast. They have an exoskeleton that makes it hard to get a knife into them; and they’re like wolves in that they fight as a pack and coordinate their attack,” Xander said.

“The Slayers know you can’t just kill them outright,” Spike said. “They release their venom at death. If you breath it in you die within minutes. You have to paralyze them and cut out their venom pouch and then kill them.”

“Sounds complicated,” Larry said. “I take it there’s no anti-venom.”

“Willow will give them a magical prophylactic to use,” Xander said. “But it’s short lived. They’ll have to work fast.”

“Okay, enough of that!” Alan said. “It’s a family rule, no talking about prophylactics at the table!” Alan changed his tone of voice from stern father to proud dad. “Did I over hear you saying that Willow is coming to L.A.? If I did I’d love to meet her.”

“That was the most awkward change of subject I’ve ever heard,” Charlie said.

“Yes,” Alan said with a stern look at his son and then at Larry. “And it’s going to stay changed! So, Xander, are we going to get to meet Willow?”

“Willow, Buffy, and Kennedy,” Xander said. “I don’t think I could stop them from meeting you if I wanted to, and I don’t. As soon as Buffy found out Giles couldn’t get all the Slayers on the same plane to Cascade she got Willow to go with her to Giles and they insisted on coming here to meet all of you.”

******

After breakfast was finished and everything was cleaned up the family discussed what they wanted to do on their last day together. Xander said he would like to see some of the L.A. sights Alan had had a hand in planning. Xander also said he’d like to stop in and see Cordy. He hadn’t visited her in years. Also, if the opportunity arose, Giles had asked Xander to talk to Wesley about rejoining The Watchers Council. All of Xander’s family, including Larry, were enthusiastic about meeting anyone that had known Xander during his years in Sunnydale, especially Angel who was practically family. Alan suggested taking them out for lunch, but Spike reminded them that Angel could not go out in the sun and did not eat food. He suggested that they get some Chinese takeout and bring it to them. Since everyone couldn’t fit in one car it was decided that Alan, Don, Xander, and Spike would tour L.A. and Larry and Charlie would pick up the Chinese and meet them at the Hyperion at twelve thirty.

******  
Hyperion Hotel

******

“We come bearing food” Xander shouted as he went through the door of the Hyperion.

Cordelia screamed and ran out from behind the reception counter. “Xander! We didn’t expect you to come so soon.” She slapped him on the arm. “You should have called.”

******

Cordy’s scream catapulted Angel out of sleep ready to fight. He didn’t bother to put on his clothes, he just ran. He was half way down the hall when he recognized Xander’s voice. He stopped mid stride muttering to himself about Cordy’s behavior when he realized that if Xander were here so was Spike. Angel’s anger at Cordelia was soothed for a moment until Lorne came out of his room fully dressed. Angel had forgotten he opted to stay overnight at the Hyperion when they got back from their visit with Spike.

Lorne looked Angel up and down with a smile on his face. “Good morning Angel Cakes. I think you should put some clothes on, there are humans down stairs.”

******

Wesley stepped out of his office. “Xander,” he said offering his hand, “I hear congratulations are in order. You’re a full fledged Watcher now.”

Xander returned Cordy’s hug then shook Wesley’s hand. “Thanks, but it’s not just me; Spike’s a Watcher now too.”

Wesley turned to Spike. “I see you’ve given up peroxide.”

“I’m not the big bad anymore,” Spike said with a smile as he offered his hand to Wesley.

“Congratulations on fulfilling the Shanshu Prophecy and becoming a Watcher.” Wesley said.

Lorne came down the stairs. “Larry, Sweetums, it’s good to see you again so soon. Is that Chinese I smell?”

Larry was surprised and embarrassed by the term of endearment. He opened his mouth to answer but found himself unable to make a sound.

“Larry,” Spike said, “Lorne is the exception to the rule. You can be yourself around him. He’s one of the good ones.”

Angel came down the stairs fully dressed and looked around at the lobby full of people.

“Afternoon Angel,” Spike said. “Xander’s family wanted to meet you. Try giving them a smile. That broody look’ll make them feel un-welcomed. They consider you and yours in-laws.”

Angel stared at Spike for a moment. “Not in-laws, family,” he said as he walked toward Alan with an outstretched hand. “Welcome, I’m Angel.”

“And that’s as close to a smile as mister dark and broody gets.” Cordelia said.

The door to the Hyperion opened and Fred and Gunn walked in carrying a couple of bags of burgers and fries. They froze in the doorway staring at all the people.

“Fred, Gunn,” Wesley said. “Xander and his new found family came to meet us. Xander why don’t you introduce everyone. Then we can eat before it gets cold.”

After introductions, lots of handshaking, and a few hugs Xander asked to talk to Angel and Wesley while the other’s set up the table for lunch. Angel suggested they meet in his office since it was bigger and Wesley was in the middle of research and his office looked it.

“I’ll get right to the point,” Xander said once the group had gotten to the office and closed the door behind them. “Giles is the head of The Watcher’s Council now. Things have changed, a lot. We need Watchers, Giles is asking that you to rejoin the Council, Wesley.”

“You have the nerve to come here and try to take away one of my team?” Angel was incredulous.

“Don’t get your knickers in a bunch, Peaches,” Spike said. “Hear him out.”

“Yes,” Wesley said with a shrewd look at Xander. “I have no intention of leaving, but I am curious to see what Mr. Giles thinks will tempt me.”

“Giles wants to bring Angel’s whole team into the Council,” Xander said. “He wants to make the Hyperion a satellite Slayer House. Angel, you’d be the Director. Wesley, Giles wants you to be Vice President of the Watchers Council. Right now Giles is doing double duty of President of the Council and Director of the Slayer House. Willow’s been helping him as much as possible but new slayers keep coming online all the time. We’re running out of room. You have plenty of room and more importantly from the Slayers point of view, bathrooms. We’d send some slayers here and you’ll also be responsible for training new Watchers from the Northwest and Southwest areas of USA and Canada.”

“As tempting as that may be,” Wesley said, “you’ve forgotten that I work for Angel he doesn’t work for me. The Hyperion belongs to Angel.”

“Angel would have to agree to become a member of the Council. He would be considered a warrior. I know that technically you’ll out rank him. Giles said I should give you his word that he would stay hand’s off. How you delegate responsibilities is up to you and Angel. You’ve worked together long enough for Giles to trust you. Things wouldn’t change all that much, except you’d have Slayers to call on and a regular paycheck. If you want he’ll be willing to buy the Hyperion and put it in the Councils name or Angel can retain ownership and the Council will lease it from Angel. Wesley, you grew up in the Council you know what works and what crap needs to be flushed down the toilet. That’s why he needs you. He needs someone he can consult with.”

“Your not only offering ME membership in the Council but directorship of a ‘Slayer House?” Angel asked in disbelief. “Or is it that you want Wes and you know I come with it?”

“Like I said things have changed. You’ve earned it,” Xander said.

Fred popped her head in the door. “Food’s out. Let’s eat.”

“Think about it. We don’t need to have an answer today.” Xander took a business card out of his pocket and put it on Angel’s desk. “If either of you want more information call Giles.”

The group got up and began walking toward the dining room. “Xander, how many Slayers would the Council send us?”

“Giles is hoping you’ll take at least twelve, but if you want to start with less...the number is negotiable. We’d send you trained Slayers of course.”

“At least?” Wesley asked. “What if I were to ask for twenty?”

“Are you kidding?” Xander said. “The Slayers will be fighting for the right to come here. Their own bathroom and milder winters… Look we have new Slayers coming on line all the time. As far as Giles is concerned the more your willing to watch over the better, but Cleveland is on a Hellmouth so we have to keep a number of Slayers there. It will be a balancing act. Eventually we want to set up other slayer houses around the world, but that will be years in coming so for now we work with what we have. We also need Watchers and Giles is willing to train anyone on your team who wants to become a Watcher.”

“I’ll call him,” Wesley said.

******

The lunch went... well, more or less. Cordy told some stories that Xander would rather not have his family know about: like the first time the Hellmouth opened in the library; and blowing up the high school at graduation.

Fred hit if off with Charlie and Larry. Larry had lots of questions about her time on Pylea. He couldn’t believe that he was talking to someone who had spent five years on another planet. Angel and Wesley were concerned that the conversation may turn to Fred’s math ability to open portals, but Fred was smart enough to steer the conversation away from that. When Larry asked her straight out how she got to Pylea and back she told them that the professor most likely paid a demon to open the portal. At that point Angle joined into the conversation and told Xander’s family that they got back to Earth with a magic tome and they brought Lorne back with them. Cordy stayed quiet during the Pylea conversation. Even she knew that they didn’t want any black ops types sniffing around.

******

When lunch was over and everyone was helping with cleanup Angel pulled Spike aside and whispered he wanted to talk. Angel took Spike to his room where they were unlikely to be interrupted.

“What’s going on Spike? I can’t believe that Giles is willing to make the Hyperion a Slayer House and give me a Directorship.”

“I know this comes out of the blue,” Spike said. “I was sent here because this world is out of balance. Right now the Slayers are in control but there’s going to be a surge of demons. The scale is going to rock violently before things settle. The Department of Cosmic Intervention is very concerned that this world will fall into darkness and be taken over by demons. We need all the warriors we can get.”

“The Department of Cosmic Intervention?” Angel asked.

“They work for the Powers That Be. Evil has Wolfram and Hart; we have the Department of Cosmic Intervention. At some point you agreed to work with the Department. I have memories of a life where you’re a Sentinel.”

“I’m human, a Sentinel like you?”

“In that reality, yes,” Spike said. “The department is inter-dimensional. If you agree to work for the light in one reality you agree in all of them.”

“Than why aren’t I a Sentinel here?”

“Best guess...You haven’t died a mystical death. Look Angel, it’s not only Slayers that are coming online here, Sentinels are going to start coming online too. The demons have regrouped and are starting to attack. This reality is going through a major change. Giles’ offer is legitimate. We need you and your team.”

“I’ll talk to Wes and the team about it,” Angel said. “If we all agree we’ll do it.”

******

Time seemed to speed by. It wasn’t until it was time to leave that Xander realized they didn’t have enough seating in the cars for Buffy, Willow and Kennedy. Wesley stepped up, he said they had a van with seating for seven.

“I’ll take you to the airport,” Wesley said. “Your family can wait here. You can all stay the night if you wish and we can see you off in the morning.”

“That sounds good,” Alan said. “My house is full so it was either sleep on the floor or go to a hotel anyway.”

“Great,” Fred said. “Then we will take you all out to dinner tonight. Does everyone like Italian?”

“I can do Italian,” Larry said, “Pasta Alfredo works for me.”

“That works for all of us,” Don said.

******

The drive to the airport was typical. Wesley took the opportunity to question Xander about Giles offer. It seemed too good to be true and he said so.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what was coming,” Spike said. “This thing with the Krowkec demons is just the beginning. You’re a wizard; you must feel it.”

“I’ve seen the signs,” Wesley said. “The last time I saw anything like this was when the Mayor rose in Sunnydale.”

“Yeah,” Spike said. “That’s what Giles has been picking up on too. He thinks we have a couple of years to prepare.”

“Meanwhile we have to deal with the build up,” Xander said

******  
Next Morning  
Hyperion

******

There wasn’t any human food at the Hyperion so everyone but Angel went out for breakfast. Angel shook hands with Xander’s family and handed Alan a business card. “Call me if you need me,” Angel said. “I’m glad that Xander has found his true family.”

“Thank you,” Alan said, “And thanks for your hospitality. I’m glad we were able to meet.”

After breakfast at The Original Pancake House, Wesley drove everyone to the airport. With the Interpol ID’s and Don’s FBI badge the group got through security quickly. The flight to Cascade was smooth and on time. Giles had arranged for a rental van so the group was off to Jim’s loft in short order.

******


	10. Chapter 10

Jim opened his door to find six people standing in the hall.

“What are you doing here, Spike?”

“I’d be glad to talk with you about it out here in the hall, but you’re usually more private than that.”

“Jim, let them in,” Blair said. “It must be something important if they came with a team.”

Jim opened the door and let everyone in but the scowl on his face stayed. “Okay, what’s this about.”

“There’s a freighter coming into Cascade on Tuesday called Betsy’s Dream,” Spike said. “There are six Krowkec demons on it. If they get loose in Cascade you’ll have a body count in the hundreds. You need to call the Harbor Master and find out where Betsy’s Dream is going to be docked. I’m willing to bet they’ve reported some mysterious deaths.”

Jim went into the kitchen to make the call.

“Hi, I’m Blair,” Blair said when the Sentinel left the room, he felt it was his responsibility to make the guests feel welcome. “I’ll get some more chairs from the kitchen,”

“No, don’t bother,” Kennedy said, “I’ll just sit here on the floor.” She plopped down and pulled Willow down next to her. Everyone else took a seat.

Blair smiled at the couple. They were obviously together in a romantic way. “Can I get you some coffee?” he asked.

“Water would be good,” Buffy said.

Blair looked at the others. They had a casual comfortableness with each other even though they were in a strange place. It made Blair wonder where it came from.

“Water would be good for all of us.” Spike told him.

A few minutes later Blair came back with a tray of water and cookies. He had baked the cookies himself the day before. Jim followed a few minutes later.

“The Coast Guard received an SOS from Betsy’s Dream,” Jim told everyone. “They think there is some kind of flesh eating bacteria on board. The freighter is down to a skeleton crew. The Coast Guard is escorting it back to Cascade. The Centers for Disease Control has been notified and the army is sending a hospital ship to quarantine the Ship’s remaining crew.”

“I have to call Giles,” Xander said. “If the Army’s involved It’s not going to be easy to get onto the ship.” Xander went to the kitchen to make the call.

“Why did you come here now if the ships not coming in until Tuesday?” Jim asked

“It’s standard procedure to let the head Watcher know when Slayers are in town. You’re the Watcher for the Cascade area.” Spike knew that presenting their coming here in the light of Jim being head Watcher would go a long way toward placating the Sentinel. Alphas always want to feel like they’re in charge and Jim needed to know he was important to the Watchers Council.

“This is Buffy and Kennedy,” Spike said pointing to the two young women, “They’re Slayers, Willow is a Witch. And this is Xander’s brother, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Eppes.”

“I’ll do this with you and Eppes, Spike, but I don’t go into a fight with Girls, I need to have someone with me that can have my back,” Jim growled.

Buffy looked at Spike. “He’s supposed to be a Watcher?” She asked.

“He doesn’t know what you can do, Buffy.” Spike said hoping it would soothe her annoyance. It didn’t.

Buffy sighed, got up, walked over to Jim, picked him up and put him over her shoulder. She ran up the loft stairs, two at a time, and threw Jim on the bed. Blair ran up after her and stopped two steps into the room.

“Are you convinced now that Slayers aren’t just girls?”

Jim tried to get up but Buffy put her hand on his shoulder and held the big man down with little effort. “There are four more Slayers coming to Cascade. We are the best chance you have of taking out these demons. YOU will have OUR back other than that you will stay out of our way and let us do our job. Capisce?”

Jim glared at Buffy through narrow eyes. Blair took a step forward. Buffy didn’t take her eyes off of Jim, she didn’t need to, she had trained wearing a blindfold and learned to fight in the black nights of a cemetery. She held up her hand in a stop sign toward Blair. Blair stopped.

“If you touch him I’ll kill you,” Jim said through clenched teeth.

“I’ve no doubt you’d try and end up with two dislocated arms for your trouble. But Blair’s not a problem, I like Blair, he gave us home baked cookies. So I wouldn’t feel too friendly if anyone or anything tried to hurt him either. See we have something in common. So let’s get back to our original subject at hand. You will stay out of the Slayers way and let us do our job! Do you understand?”

******

“Oh shit,” Xander said when he heard the commotion from the living room. “Gotta go, Giles.” He ended the call and stuck the phone in his pocket then he sprinted to the living room and up the stairs. Spike followed his Guide.

“Buffy, he’s a Watcher in training,” Xander said softly. “Let him go.”

Buffy huffed and let go of Jim. He sat up on the side of the bed and glared at Buffy.

“Apologize,” Xander said.

“Me? He started it,” Buffy wined.

Jim watched Xander, he acted like a man that expected to be obeyed. He wasn’t a man that had to demand. He had the respect of the preternaturally strong Slayer. Jim’s judgment of Xander rose a level.

“Buff?” Xander warned.

“Oh, okay,” Buffy sighed. She turned to Jim. “I apologize. I should have found a better way to show you I’m not incompetent.”

“And we apologize for doubting you,” Blair said with a pointed look at Jim.

“Yes,” was Jim’s one word reply.

“Now that that’s settled,” Xander said heading back to the living room. “I think we should go check in at the hotel. We’ll talk later this evening, maybe over some Tex-Mex?” Xander felt he had made a mistake bringing everyone to the loft. He had gone too far in stretching Jim’s tolerance of exposure as a Sentinel. Jim was still uncomfortable with anyone knowing his secret, even people who had secrets of their own.

“Tex-Mex is good,” Blair said happy that the whole incident was diffused. “How about 6:30 at The NexMex on Spring Street?”

“We’ll be there,” Spike said as they left the loft.

******

The NexMex

******

Spike, Xander, and Don were waiting in the restaurant parking lot when Jim drove in and parked his truck. The five men met at the door.

“The Girls wanted to go to the hotel bar. It’s karaoke night,” Spike said after they were seated. “We thought that would be okay.”

“It’s fine,” Jim said, he wondered why Spike didn’t have any problem working with a bunch of girls that didn’t seem to have any military style discipline. Lack of self control can get a soldier killed. These things were coming to Cascade and Cascade was his territory to protect. “Have you heard from your contact.”

“Giles called Angel. Both Angel and Wesley have agreed to join the council. He thinks Fred will be able to get us on board the ship before it gets to port. She’ll have to work with Willow to get an exact location. They’ll let us know when they’re arriving in Cascade.”

“Giles ‘thinks’ that Fred will be able to get us on board,” Jim said. “What are we going to do take a speedboat and hope Willow can locate the ship and hope they let us on? You do remember that the Ship is being escorted by the Coast Guard?”

“No speed boat involved, but I can’t talk about it here. We need to get the whole team together to make firm plans. The best place would be at the loft unless you know of someplace more private?” Spike asked.

“No, the loft is as private as we can get on short notice. So all six of the Slayers are going to be there?” Jim asked.

“Yes, they need to get here early enough to get settled. Giles also asked another Watcher, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and a mathematician, Winifred Burkle. She’s the Fred I mentioned.”

“Why do you need a mathematician?” Don asked. He was often surprised how Charlie’s math helped him in his cases it just didn’t seem that stopping a demon invasion would be one of them. “You know that Charlie would be glad to help.”

“We’ll explain everything tomorrow afternoon,” Spike whispered. “It’s safer for Charlie that he not know about this. It could be very dangerous if the wrong government types found out.

******

Monday Afternoon  
The loft

******

At twelve thirty the group of six Slayers, three Watchers, one witch, one portal mathematician, and one FBI agent arrived at the loft door with nine large pizzas, three liters of Coke, three liters of Seven Up, seven dozen apple fritters with dipping sauce for desert, along with enough paper plates, napkins and plastic cups for a pizza party.

The first hour and a half was spent getting to know each other or renewing old friendships, The next half hour was spent cleaning everything up and getting the trash out of the loft and into the dumpster. Jim was impressed with the speed, efficiency, and teamwork of the Slayers. They made short work of the pizza party mess and had the loft back to military cleanliness in short order. Apparently they weren’t as devoid of military discipline as he had first thought.

Wesley spent his time watching Jim. Jim’s nostrils had flared and his eyes dilated when he shook hands with Fred. For a short moment the Sentinel looked surprised but quickly schooled himself. Wesley was not particularly impressed with Jim Ellison. Physically of course the man was a perfect specimen. It was his attitude that concerned Wesley. Jim Ellison seemed to be keeping himself apart from the goings on. Not so with the Guide Blair. He jumped right in and asked pertinent questions. Wesley realized that Blair had a superior intellect, in his opinion he would make a better Watcher than Ellison. He also thought Blair had definite wizard potential, he would have to talk to Spike about it before he went back to L.A..

Xander stood up and cleared his throat. The room of quiet chatter became instantly silent. “Okay everyone. I know I probably don’t have to say this but I’m saying this anyway. What’s said in this room is not to be talked about. I know that Slayers are not exactly the secret they used to be, but witches, wizards, Sentinel’s, and portal mathematicians are things of fairy tales or unknown to the public. We need to keep it that way. Remember if this stuff leaks out it’s not just yourself your putting in danger. Now that I’ve got that out of the way… Buffy is taking the lead on this mission so I’ll yield the floor to you, Buffy.”

Buffy stood up. “Willow and Fred are going to work together to get us onto the ship. Willow will do a locator spell and that will give Fred the numbers she needs to know where the ship is located. Once Fred does the math she will open a portal to the ship. Willow will also do a protection spell to keep us safe from the venom. In case anyone doesn’t know it the venom is airborne. If it gets into the air and blows on shore anyone who breaths it in will die. We believe it maintains its ability to kill for twenty four hours. It’s imperative that we don’t let that happen. Once on board we are breaking up into two teams. Team one: Sentinel Spike, Slayers; Andrea, Kennedy, and myself. Willow will do the freeze spell,”

“Congelasco,” Willow interrupted.

“Con Jello spell,” Buffy attempted to repeat. “Team two: Sentinel Ellison, Slayers; Faith, Barb, and Deb. Wesley will do the Con Jello spell. Fred will stay with team two.

“The Krowkec hunt in packs. When we get on board the two teams will split up. The Sentinels will track down the pack by scent. By splitting up we can cover the whole ship faster. According to the Watchers Journals they smell like cinnamon with a touch of gangrene so it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up their scent. Once found you must wait for them to be frozen before you go after them. They should be all together in their pack. That means the Slayers will be responsible for killing two each, unless we find them quickly and the two teams work together. Remember the bodies go in our container. Fred will open another portal and we will get back on land where Fred will open a portal to the Krowkec home world and we will send them back. They should get the message not to come here again. Does anyone have any questions?”

Jim raised his hand. “The Harbor Master said they think they have a flesh eating bacteria on board, you didn’t say anything about that.”

“The Krowkec don’t eat you until after they kill you. Their main weapon is their venom. They can bite but it would be no worse than a rat bite. They can also scratch you, but if we all do our job right it shouldn’t be a problem. Anyone else?” no one answered. “We’re a go for midnight on dock 36. Get some rest. We may have a long night.”

@@@@@@

At midnight the two teams met on the dock. There was a new moon and cloud cover blocked out most of the stars. The only light was from the glow of street lights. The ocean was pitch black. There were occasional lights from the ships at distant docks.

Willow did her venom protection spell then Fred opened the portal and the two teams stepped through. Jim grunted at the smell and looked at Spike.

“We’ve got the scent,” Spike said. “I don’t think we’ll need to split up.” They followed the stench down a hall and a set of stairs and a second hall to the crew’s quarters. Willow and Wesley were both ready with their Congelasco spell. The smell in the area was too strong to get an exact location or even a general direction.

The two magic wielders moved slowly when the Sentinels heard a scraping sound coming from a dark corner. “There,” both Sentinels said and pointed. Willow and Wesley turned and saw the six Krowkec charging them and trying to out flank them. Both humans let loose their spell and the Krowkec stopped in mid stride. The six slayers moved in. They cracked open the exoskeleton and carefully clipped the nerve bundle leading to the venom sack before plunging their knife into the demon’s heart. The demons were the size of a Chihuahua dog. All six fit into one of the two boxes they had brought with them.

Fred redid her math and opened a portal from the crew quarters and all stepped back through and onto dock 36. The whole mission took slightly more than half an hour. Fred insisted on getting to dry land before opening the portal to send back the bodies of the Krowkec. It turned out her instincts were right. A large purple demon with glowing orange eyes and three inch claws came roaring through the portal as soon as it opened. It didn’t have a chance. The Slayers made short work of it, but the fight would have been much more difficult on the confined area of the dock. The box with the Krowkec demons bodies in it was put through the portal and the portal was closed.

Spike and Jim went back to the loft where Blair, Xander and Don waited. Everyone else went back to the hotel.

“Did you know that Fred is a potential Guide?” Jim asked.

“Xander and I went to visit Angel’s team when we were in L.A. I sensed it then. Don’t be fooled by her. Under all her kindness she is diamond hard. She doesn’t let anyone or anything take advantage of her.”

“If a Sentinel ever Claims her; he’ll be a lucky man.”

“I think Wesley’s Sentinel abilities are going to come online. When that happens he’ll Claim her.”

Jim turned into his buildings parking lot and parked the truck. “What makes you think Wesley is going to become a Sentinel?”

“It’s a gut feeling. I was told when I came here that Sentinel’s were going to come online and together with their Guides they’d be the new Watchers. It just makes sense that Watchers like Wesley would become Sentinels.”

“He’s a wizard,” Jim said allowing a tone of distaste creep into his voice.

“Don’t underestimate Wesley. He’s more than a wizard, he’s a Warrior that’s been fighting demons for years and he’s still alive. Wesley is capable of making hard decisions, the kind that most people run away from, he’ll have your back.”

“It’s sounds like you like the guy. Would you go into battle with him?”

“Without hesitation.” Spike told him. “In my other life we have a… an oath, I guess you’d call it, I’d trust him with my Guide’s life. It’s not something a Sentinel says lightly.”

“Okay, since you put it that way, I’ll keep an open mind, but there’s no way in hell I trust him with Blair’s life.”

“Keeping an open mind is good enough. For now.” Spike told him.

@@@@@@

5 Months Later

******

Giles sat at his desk looking at reports of cemetery desecration in Lynndale, a suburb of Cleveland. The article said that graves were dug up and bodies were stolen. That screamed newly turned vampires to Giles. He would have to send some Slayers to patrol there tonight. He was just about to start researching the victims to see if there was a common denominator in their lives or their death, anything that would help him find the vampire's lair, when the phone rang.

“Watcher’s Council, Giles speaking,” he answered.

“Giles, it’s Angel. Wesley has been cursed or somehow poisoned by a demon. We need Willow’s help. My team and the Slayer’s have gone through the Watcher’s Journals and all the computer files. We can’t find any of these symptoms listed.”

“What are his symptoms?” Giles asked.

“He can’t stand to have anything touch his skin. Fred suggested that he lay on sheepskin rugs that are used to sooth babies and that helps some, but he seems to be having severe pain in his eyes and ears. He’s curled into a fetal position moaning or screaming in a dark room. He’s in a constant cold sweat from the pain. Something has to be done. He won’t eat or drink. He’ll be dehydrated by tonight. Fred’s doing the math; we have to chance opening a portal. I know the Hellmouth energies are a risk but I don't think Wesley will survive if we have to wait for a flight to get here.”

“Hold on while I get Willow, Spike, and Xander.” Giles put the call on hold. “When did this start?” Giles asked when he got back.

“Last night. We went after a cadre of Shelemook Demons. It was touch and go for a few minutes. The symptoms started in the car on the way back.”

“Shelemook don’t have any magic abilities and they’re not venomous. No one else was affected?”

“No one else,” Angel said. “Giles we’re wasting time I need Willow now. Fred just finished the math to open a portal.”

“She just walked in,” Giles said. The portal opened and Willow, Spike and Xander stepped into the Hyperion’s lobby.

******

Fred took Willow up to Wesley’s room warning her that he was naked. Spike and Xander stayed in the lobby talking to Angel. Spike asked Angel about how this happened.

“Didn’t Giles tell you what happened?” Angel asked

“All he had time to tell us was that something was wrong with Wesley,” Spike said. “We grabbed our go bags and by the time we got to Giles office the portal was open.”

Angel repeated what he told Giles.

“I recognize those symptoms, it wasn’t a demon that did this,” Spike said. “Wesley has triggered as a Sentinel. It’s not going to be easy to get him back in balance. He needs a Guide and he has to bond or he’ll go crazy and try to kill everything in sight trying to get to a Guide.”

Angel took off running. ”Fred’s with him,” he growled over his shoulder as he took the stairs two at a time. Spike and Xander were right behind him.They were running down the hall toward Wesley’s room when Willow and Fred stepped out into the hall and very softly closed the door behind them.

The men stopped as the women walked toward them.

“It’s not magic,” Willow said, “and I couldn’t detect any demon venom either.”

“His Sentinel abilities have come online and he’s out of balance,” Spike said. “Angel said you were there, Fred. When you had a difficult fight with the Shelemook.”

“I was, most of the Slayers were looking for a clan of vampires so I went to help out.”

“You’re a potential Guide,” Spike told Fred. “Right now you’re the only one that can help Wesley.”

“But I don’t know how to help him,” Fred said.

“Let’s go to your room. I’ll give you a crash course in how to be a Guide,” Xander said.

******

Xander and Fred sat on the side of Fred’s bed. Xander took Fred’s hands in his. “I’m sorry I have to be so blunt with you,” Xander said. “When I became Spike’s Guide I wanted it and he wanted it too. Wesley is out of balance. Spike and Blair told me it could happen. Sentinels need Guides, I guess you’ve seen why. You are a Guide. Spike and I have known it since we were here with my family. You’re his best hope of getting into balance.”

“I don’t understand,” Fred said. “You’re more experienced than I am. Why can’t you help him?”

“If I get him back in balance he’ll want to Claim me and Spike won’t let him do that. I’m Spike’s Guide. If Wes tries to Claim me Spike will have to kill him. Wesley wouldn’t give up.”

“Sentinel’s can’t share a Guide?”

“I don’t want to be shared,” Xander said. “When a Sentinel Claims a Guide he or she becomes the Sentinel’s mate and Sentinels mate for life.”

“By mate do you mean like a wife?”

“Yes and no. The bond is much deeper than a husband and wife,” Xander told her.

“Xander,” Fred said, “I’m with Charles. I want to help Wesley, but I don’t want to be his wife,”

“Not wife, bond mate. You’ll have an emotional, physical, and spiritual bond. I don’t want you to go into this with your eyes closed, but there is no way to prepare you for what the bond is. You have a very difficult decision to make. We’re not going to find another Guide for him, not in time to save him.”

“I have to talk to Charles,” Fred Said, she pulled out her phone. Xander left the room to give her privacy.

******

“Fred,” Gunn said when he answered the call, “What’s going on? Was Willow able to help?”

“No. It’s not magic or poison. I need to talk to you Charles,” Fred told him.

“Okay, I’ll be there around seven and we’ll talk.” Gunn ended the call before Fred could say anything. He was hanging with his old team, it had been a week since he met up with them. His team started teasing him about being Fred’s puppy dog. There was nothing he could do for Wesley, Gunn reasoned, so he ignored it when Fred called him back and he let it go to voice mail. When the third call from Fred came in Gunn turned off his phone and went back to playing basketball.

Fred was indignant; she had thought that Charles loved her. He knows that Wesley is very sick. Maybe Charles isn’t the man she thought he was. Why would Charles turn his back on her and not just on her but Wesley too? They were a team. They fought side by side. Wesley had saved his life two weeks ago. She wanted and needed to talk to him but he chose to turn off his phone. The anger dissipated and all that was left was grief. Grief for the loss of what she thought had been love. Fred left her room and went to the lobby where everyone waited. She had made her decision.

******

Lobby

******

Willow, Spike and Angel had returned to the lobby. The Slayers were all still out of sight, either in their rooms or working out in the hotel’s gym. Angel paced, clearly under distress. Cordelia watched him carefully, unwilling to take her eyes off of him. Willow sat on a circular settee as far from Angel’s pacing route as she could get. Spike tried to talk to Angel and let him know that Fred could get Wesley back in balance. But nothing he said was having any effect on his grandsire. Spike turned to Cordy who looked like she was about to throw a gallon of holy water at Angel. “Cordy, can you get Angel a mug of warm blood? It will help him get under control.”

“Wes is my best friend, Spike.” Angel said. “He helped me build a life here in L.A.. I can’t lose him. I can’t handle all the Slayers without him. I’d have to go back to working alone.”

“That’s not going to happen. You’re a member of the Watchers Council now, Giles won’t desert you. We know how to help Wesley. Xander is talking to Fred right now. He’ll teach her what she needs to know to get Wesley in balance.”

“And then what?” Angel asked. “What if this keeps happening? He’s in agony.”

Xander came down the stairs, “Fred’s calling Gunn. She’ll make her decision after she talks to him.” Xander went to sit beside Willow. He took her hand in his. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

Spike turned back to Angel. “When Fred helps Wesley get his senses under control he’ll be driven to Claim Fred. Once they bond this won’t happen again. Most Sentinel’s come online gently. It’s very rare that things get this bad.”

“Claim her? Like a vampire Claims a human?” Angel asked.

“You sound like Giles, he asked the same question when I told him I Claimed Xander.” Spike said. “Sentinels Bond with their Guides. It’s not like a vampire. We don’t own our Guides we’re partners with them. But we don’t share them either. In my memories Sentinel’s have a truism. ‘A Guide is life.’ It’s something that we take very seriously. Xander and I will stay for awhile and make sure Fred knows all she needs to know to keep Wesley in balance. If we need to we can call Blair. He’s a more experienced Guide and you should probably meet Jim and Blair eventually.”

Cordy came back with a warm mug of blood for Angel. She put it on the counter but was hesitant to get any closer to the still pacing vampire.

Spike picked up the mug. “Angel, lets go into your office. Drink some warm blood, you’ll feel better.”

“I don’t want to feel better,” Angel growled.

Spike put the blood back on the counter. He knew better than to push his grandsire when he was in this kind of a mood. It was better to let him pace. After dark Angel could decompress by going on patrol and killing some vampires.

A moment later Fred came down the stairs smelling of grief. Angel stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Willow and Xander stood up. They went to stand beside Spike still holding hands.

Fred sighed and looked into everyone’s eyes one by one. “I’ve made my decision,” She told the group.

******

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Fred reached for the doorknob. There was no hesitation in her hand and no doubt in her heart or her soul. Not anymore. Wesley was in there. Wesley, who had always been so patient with her when she first returned from Pylea. Wesley, who went out into the world to face down demons. Wesley, whose moral compass had never wavered from true north. Now it was her turn to help him. She had had her doubts as she made her way down the stairs and told the group she had decided to help the man who had saved her life only hours earlier.

******

When Fred was a child and discovered she had an aptitude for math combined with a love of building things, she wanted to become an engineer. She remembered the joy as she packed for college and her disappointment when she was ostracized for being the smartest person in the room and a woman in what had always been a man’s world. There seemed to be a small hole in the center of her soul, an emptiness that she couldn’t seem to fill. So she put her head down and worked towards earning her degree. She told herself the hole would be filled once she graduated and became the engineer she dreamed of being.

That all changed when the portal opened in front of her and she was pulled through and deposited onto a hell world where humans were considered farm animals. She survived for five years and then she was rescued by Angel and his team, but the path of her life had changed. She came back with post traumatic stress and it took her some time to construct a closet in her mind, shove her memories into it, and firmly close the door.

She walked into her new life with people that were steadfast in their support. They understood, in ways no one else could, what she had been through. So she stayed, thinking that it was just her destiny to live with a small hole in her soul.

Now Xander and Spike were telling her that her destiny was one that she had never imagined. They had taken her into Wesley’s office to quickly teach her what she needed to know to be a Guide and bring Wesley back in balance. They told her she had to let her grief, over what happened with Gunn, go. Wesley wouldn’t respond to her, and she couldn’t bond with him while she was feeling grief for another. She took a deep breath and blew the grief away, like a tumbleweed on the Texas prairie, and turned her mind to learning what she needed to know to help Wesley. She listened carefully to what they had to say about dials and voice modulation. She had her doubts but Spike didn’t. He took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes. “I know you can do this, Fred. It’s what you were born to do.” It was said with such love and surety that it brought a memory from the locked closet in her mind.

The memory was of Angel in a field on Pylea, he had changed into a vampire, an out of control, violent, beast. But she hadn’t been afraid, she went to him, soothed him, and brought Angel back into control. Suddenly Fred understood this was what she was meant to do and the small hole in the middle of her soul was filled. Xander felt the ripple go through him as Fred the Guide was born. Spike saw it in her eyes and felt it through the tips of his fingers as her body language changed.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re right this is my destiny.”

She stood up with dignity and walked from the office and up the stairs, there was commitment in every step she took, commitment to help the Sentinel that lay in pain alone in a room. He would no longer be alone, very soon he would have his life partner.

Angel didn’t try to stop her or to go with her. He wasn’t afraid for her anymore. He had seen that woman before, in a field on an alien world. Now he understood what Spike and Xander meant when they said Fred was ‘Guide’. Not a guide, but Guide. ‘A Guide is life’, Spike had told Angel and now he knew, he understood the depth of that simple statement.

“What did you say to her?” Angel asked Spike when Fred disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs.

“I told her the truth, she listened,” Spike answered as he took Xander’s hand. “It shouldn’t take long now.”

Angel and Spike glanced up toward Wesley’s room as they heard the doorknob turn and the door open.

******

Fred closed the door as quietly as possible, but the sound she couldn’t hear, sounded like a gunshot to Wesley and he moaned. She slipped out of her clothes, Xander had told her that Sentinels needed skin to skin contact, she walked to the sheepskin rugs that Wesley laid on and laid down beside him.

Her whisper was a soft movement of air over her lips, barely more than a thought. “Wesley, I’m here to help. I need you to see a dial in your mind’s eye. It’s numbered one to ten. That’s your dial for hearing. When you see it put your hand on it.”

Wesley heard Fred’s voice. It was as if a soothing balm were washing over him. He wanted that voice, he wanted the words. He didn’t question or hesitate when the voice told him to picture a dial. He was, after all, a wizard used to picturing invocations in his mind and bringing his intent to manifest. He pictured the dial, black plastic with white numbers, floating in a sea of gray. He lifted his hand to touch it.

“Good, Wesley,” Fred said. “We’re going to turn it down together. It’s on ten, slowly turn it back to nine...eight...seven...six...five.” Her whisper increased in volume until it was a soft voice. “You should be at normal hearing now. Does my voice cause you pain?”

“No,” Wesley moaned as his hand dropped back down.

“Okay, we’re going to turn back your sense of touch. Picture the dial for touch and put your hand on it.”

This time the dial was bright red with black numbers. It looked the way his skin felt, searing hot where ever anything touched it. Wesley lifted his hand.

“We’ll turn it down together. Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five.”

Wesley’s hand dropped and he exhaled with relief. He opened his eyes only to be hit with a piercing pain and closed them tight again with a stifled scream. “Eyes.” he cried out.

“Picture your sight dial,” Fred said as she reached out and stroked his arm.

This time the dial was blue, the color of his eyes. He lifted his hand and Fred began her backward count. When she reached five his hand dropped and he opened his eyes. Blue eyes met brown. “Fred,” he said, the relief showing in his voice. Wesley’s tongue lay over his bottom teeth and the tip touched his bottom lip. He was breathing through his mouth, pulling the air over his tongue tasting Fred. It filled him. Then he started the odd sort of breathing that Xander told her about, half a deep breath through his nose and half through his mouth smelling and tasting Guide scent.

“We have to turn down your taste and scent dials,” Fred told him, making sure to keep her voice modulated at Guide voice.

Xander had told her he may resist. “He wouldn’t want to give up your scent or taste.” Xander was right, he shook his head no.

“We need to turn you down to seven,” Fred insisted. “Then we need to bond so you won’t go out of balance like that again. You won’t lose my scent or my taste, I promise.” She moved her hand from his arm to his chest and down his torso as she talked.

Wesley’s eye’s left Fred’s face and followed her hand as it traced the contours of his muscles. When he looked back at her, he noticed her state of undress. He lifted himself up, balancing on one arm, “You’re naked.”

She didn’t answer the comment. She stayed on track. “Wesley I need you to picture your taste dial. We’re going to turn it down to seven. We need to do this...it’s not an option. Do you see the dial?”

“Why are you naked, Fred?”

“You weren’t poisoned or cursed. You’ve triggered as a Sentinel. You need a Guide, or what happened to you earlier could happen again. Now picture your taste dial.”

“You’re my Guide?”

“Yes, and you will listen to me. Now...picture...the dial!”

Fred was his and from the sound of her voice he was her’s. Wesley laid back down on his side and did as he was told.

******

It was twelve minutes past seven when Gunn came into the Hyperion. Two Slayers who had been sparring with Spike had finished their work out and were laughing and joking with each other in the lobby, suddenly stopped, glanced at Gunn, and ran up the stairs to their rooms

Gunn was confused. Usually he and the Slayers got along quite well. They would pull him into their comradery, after all they were young girls eager for male attention. They would banter, fake punch each other, and laugh together. Rushing out of his presence was a definite change in behavior.

“You’re late,” Cordelia said glaring at him with her super bitch look that had been razor honed by her life in a demon infested L.A..

“Game took longer than expected and I’m not late I told Fred around seven,” Gunn answered ignoring the angry look. “Where’s Fred? She said she wanted to talk.”

“It’s too late for that now,” Angel said standing in his office doorway.

“That’s none of your business,” Gunn said and headed for the stairs. He knew that Fred was most likely in her room.

Angel moved, vampire fast, and blocked his way. “It was Fred’s choice.”

“She told us you turned off your phone,” Cordy said still looking daggers at Gunn.

“What are you doing? Double teaming me now?” Gunn asked.

Spike moved to stand beside Angel. “You gave up any right you had to talk to Fred when you turned off the phone.”

“I think I want to hear that from Fred,” Gunn said. “Now get out of my way!” He tried to push past them and head for the stairs again.

******

Wesley and Fred laid in each others arms. Fred felt more content than she had ever felt in her adult life. Xander had been right, there was no way to prepare her for the intensity of the bond. She sighed and tried to cuddle in closer, but it was impossible for two people to occupy the same space at the same time.

Wesley ran his hand down Fred’s back and cupped her cheek. Fred sighed and squeaked with approval. Wesley found he loved her little squeaks and squeals of pleasure. Every one of them had been cataloged and committed to memory each and every one was precious. He buried his nose in her neck and began nuzzling, when he heard the voice from downstairs. “Gunn’s here,” he said with a distinct change to the timbre of his voice. It was pure Sentinel. Wesley stood up, found his clothes in the corner of the room where they had been neatly folded, and began to dress.

“I’ll talk to him,” Fred said.

“No, you won’t,” Wesley answered before she had a chance to say anything else. “This is my responsibility.”

“He needs to hear that it’s over from me,” Fred said.

Wesley didn’t bother to put on his shoes and socks. He left the room walking with a purpose. Neither slow nor fast but every step deliberate. Fred followed, half a step behind on his right so that her left would be closer to Wes and easier for him to hear her heartbeat.

“I think I want to hear that from Fred,” Gunn said as they rounded the corner. “Now get out of my way!”

“You can hear it from me,” Wesley said from the balcony. “Fred’s with me now and that’s not going to change.”

Gunn started up the stairs preparing to push past Angel and Spike. Spike put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. “If you touch her, Wesley will kill you.”

Gunn knocked Spike’s hand off his shoulder. “He’s welcome to try. Let me pass,” he demanded.

“Please, Charles,” Fred said. “It’s over between us. It was over, when you shut off your phone. Go home. I’m with Wesley now.” She reached over and took Wesley’s hand, interlocking her fingers with his.

“Fred, I’m sorry, I’m human, I made a mistake. Don’t let my mistake do this to you, you don’t have to accept this. You can walk away. Just come with me right now.” Gunn told her.

“No one forced me,” Fred said. “For you to think that that was even possible just goes to show that you don’t know me very well.”

“Get out of here now!” Angel said. “You're not on my team anymore. You don’t know me either if you think I’d force Fred into a bond.”

Gunn took a step back then looked up at Fred. “If you ever need me…”

“I won’t,” Fred said. “I have friends that won’t turn their back on me.”

Gunn turned and left the Hyperion. In the days ahead he would come to realize just how much he lost. When one of his crew tried to cheer him up by telling him Fred was nothing but a controlling bitch he punched him in the jaw.

@@@@@@

Next Morning at Breakfast  
The Hyperion

@@@@@@

“You didn’t tell me about this,” Wesley said after tasting Fred’s breakfast before she had a chance to take a single fork full.

“Jim seems to have channeled his drive to taste Blair’s food into just sniffing it.” Spike said. “If it bothers you…”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Wesley interrupted. “At least not the way you mean. I just suddenly have this drive to protect Fred. I know intellectually that she can take pretty good care of herself, she’s as much a warrior as I am, but I have this drive. I feel like I’ve come down with obsessive compulsive disorder. How long before this calms down?”

“When you come online as a Sentinel you lay down new mental pathways,” Spike told him. “When you bond you lay down more pathways. That’s why you can recall Fred’s scent and her feel just by thinking of them. What you’re experiencing is normal for a Sentinel. As for the drive to take care of your Guide, that doesn’t go away. Sentinel’s don’t talk about it much. We just have a saying, ‘A Guide is life’, that says it all.”

“What about Guide’s?” Fred asked. “I don’t want to taste Wesley’s food, but I do feel a pull to him. I want to make sure he is okay. It’s a lot stronger than just a general feeling any good person would have. I seem to be able to sense what his needs are. Like my walking half a step behind on his right and us showering together.”

“That’s normal for a Guide,” Xander said. “It kind of becomes second nature. I’ve settled into it and now it’s comfortable. I know I’d miss it if I wasn’t aware of Spike anymore.”

“Do you two have any other questions? I know this can be a lot to take in at first.” Spike told them.

“There are a lot of things I want to know,” Wesley said. “I just don’t know how to formulate the questions yet.”

“I feel that way too,” Fred said. “You’re going to be around for awhile aren’t you?”

“I want to visit my family while I’m in L.A.,” Xander said. “We won’t be far, just give us a call if you need us.”

“You’re going to leave us by ourselves?” Fred asked. Clearly she felt stress.

“I’m sure you’ll be okay, but if it makes you feel better you can come with us. Alan considers you family too.” Spike told them.

“I know I’d feel better if we stick together for a while,” Wesley said. “Spike, you said you had memories of going through Sentinel training.”

“It was mostly law enforcement training, along with physical training. You don’t need any of that. We spent two weeks on learning to picture our dials, I think you have that down. There was a class about caring for a Guide. Mostly it had to do with us trusting our Guide and working as partners. Guide’s think differently than Sentinel’s and some Sentinel’s have trouble with that. Some of them think a Guide is trying to control them. They can become emotional bullies if they aren’t prepared to receive instinctual knowledge of a Guides needs when they bond.”

“I can’t imagine not trusting Fred,” Wesley said.

“You have the advantage of knowing Fred. Most of the Sentinels in my alternate memories didn’t know their Guide before they became a Sentinel and bonded. Also most Alpha Sentinels are concrete thinkers, everything is black and white to them. Guides are able to see more, not just black and white, but all the shades of gray.”

“Colors too,” Fred added. It was true. She was deeply analytical about what motivated people.

“I guess I’m a different kind of Sentinel than,” Wesley said.

“Well, you’re a very talented Wizard,” Xander said. “I guess that kind of eliminates the possibility of being an inflexible thinker.”

“You’re the kind of Sentinel this reality needs,” Spike told him. “I was sent to that reality to help bring them into the next level of evolution. They needed to become more like us.”

******  
Afternoon  
Eppes Home

******

The Eppes sat at their dining room table enjoying supper along with their guests from L.A.. Charlie and Fred were chatting quietly about Charlie’s latest math problem.

Alan wanted to keep a conversation going that everyone could understand so he asked the obvious question. “So what was the emergency that brought you here?”

“Wesley’s Sentinel abilities triggered suddenly. We came to help him get back into balance,” Xander said.

“What do you mean, suddenly?” Alan asked. “Isn’t it always you are or you aren’t?”

“Wesley’s senses all came online at once and were turned up painfully high. Usually a Sentinel’s senses develop slowly,” Spike said. “He might notice a woman is wearing too much perfume or accuse someone of yelling that is talking normally. His clothes would suddenly feel scratchy or food would tastes too spicy.”

Alan gave a pointed look at Don. “Oh?”

Xander didn’t miss the look, his empathic sense told him something was going on. He looked from his dad to his brother. “That look means something, I can feel it,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing is going on,” Don said. “Dad just over seasoned his casserole yesterday.”

“Charlie and I couldn’t taste it,” Alan said.

“Have there been any other symptoms?” Xander asked his brother.

“Not really.”

Xander knew avoidance when he heard it. “Tell me about all the ‘not really’ things,” Xander asked. He wasn’t about to let it go.

“Xander, it’s nothing.” Don said. Xander didn’t look away. Don felt as if he wasn’t being looked at, but being looked into. “Okay, so the cafeteria was louder than usual.”

“And?” Xander asked.

“I was in an elevator with an agent wearing too much aftershave. Look all these things are normal. Dad’s always defensive about his cooking.” Don absentmindedly ran a finger around the edge of his cuff.

“Too much starch in your shirt?” Spike asked.

“Oh, come on…” Don complained.

“Something happened to trigger this,” Xander said. “Something stressful, what was it?”

“The stabbing,” Alan said.,

“Dad, please,” Don said. “It was superficial, I only had three stitches. I’ve had worse injuries playing ball.”

“I triggered because I was defending Fred,” Wesley said. “I didn’t have any injuries. Were you protecting anyone?”

Don looked at Wesley and everything came together. It was a child he was rescuing from a kidnapper. “A twelve year old girl had been kidnapped,” he said quietly. “You really think I could be a Sentinel?”

“It sounds like it,” Xander said.

“How frequent are the sensory spikes?” Spike asked.

“They’ve been getting more frequent,” Don told them. “I’ve been chalking it up to stress. I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping.”

“I’ll notify Giles that you’ve come online. I’ll tell him we need to stay for awhile,” Xander said. “You need to learn about your sensory dials and then we can help you find a Guide.”

******

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ******  
> Notes:  
> Thanks to TimeVortex my beta, story buddy, and cowriter.  
> I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I hope you will forgive me.  
> Please comment it helps me stay focused on the story.
> 
> ******


	12. Chapter 12

@@@@@@

Hyperion  
One week later

******

Spike and Wesley had decided it was best to give Don his Sentinel training at the Hyperion. Everything he needed to learn was there and there was plenty of room. At first Don balked at having to drop his cases at the FBI. “The supervisor will never go for it,” he told the group.

“He will,” Xander said. “Your supervisor will get a call from Interpol requesting you join a top secret task force on international terrorism.”

“He’s not going to fall for that,” Don told him. “He’ll check it out.”

Xander laughed. “He’ll be told to let you go for as long as you need and to never mention it again on threat of being brought up on charges for leaking information.”

“You have that kind of pull?” Don asked.

“Interpol does,” Xander told him. “We’ll be getting you registered as a dual agent soon.”

Now they were here at the Hyperion and things were not going well. Don was having a very difficult time picturing his dials. Neither Wesley’s experience as a Wizard nor Xander’s instincts as a Guide were helping. Don’s symptoms and sensory spikes had advanced to now include zone outs. Xander’s frustration at being unable to help his brother was building to the point of the Slayers being able to feel it. Spike was doing what he could to calm his Guide, but all he could manage was to make sure Xander got a good night’s sleep. Every morning Xander would wake with the hope that today was the day Don would have a breakthrough.

Don was trying, but he just couldn’t get it. He could remember a dial with numbers, but to actually see it… a three dimensional knob that existed… It just wasn’t in him. He was not a happy man and what made his frustration even worse was that he felt that he was letting down his brother. Xander would pick up on Don’s frustration and try to reassure him, but everyday turned into a downward spiral for the two men, each believing they were letting down the other.

Xander had Spike to help him through, but Don didn’t have anyone and Spike knew just how bad things could get. If they couldn’t get Don under control he could slip into a zone coma. He had to call Blair, at this point it was their only hope. Finding an untrained Guide was not the answer. Don’s circumstances were very different than Wesley’s. Wesley was a Watcher and a Wizard, both he and his Guide were able to understand the demon world. Spike sighed and took out his phone. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Jim to bring Blair to L.A., but Spike had no choice.

******

Jim answered the phone on his bullpen desk. He was annoyed at hearing from Spike while working. Spike did his best to sooth Jim. He explained that it was Xander’s brother’s life that was at stake. Jim could understand that. Xander was Guide, He had to be protected both physically and emotionally.

“I’ll take the shuttle this weekend,” Jim told Spike.

“We need you here as soon as possible,” Spike said. “Fred can open a portal tomorrow morning. I’ll call Banks and have you transferred to an Interpol task force. I’m not sure how long we’ll need you so pack for a week.”

******

Loft  
Late Evening

******

Blair finished packing his suitcase and zipped it up. “So Spike didn’t say how long we would be in L.A.?”

“He just said they needed you. He seems to think that you can get this guy to picture his dials when the other two Guides can’t.”

“He’s not just some ‘guy’, he’s Xander’s brother. Did he say why he thinks I can help him, or are they just grasping at straws at this point?”

“I asked him that question and he said you hold a Doctorate in Sentinel and Guide studies. I think he got you mixed up with the Blair from his past life memories. Anyway he gave me some bullshit on ‘The Powers That Be’ whatever the hell that means. Long story short, he truly believes you can help this GU… ah...Xander’s brother or he’ll go into something he called a Zone Coma and die.”

“Well, I’ll do what I can but if Don can’t picture his dial’s; there’s not much I can do.”

“Don’t worry, Chief, they’re not going to blame you if you can’t help. Spike assured me of that. You know all this makes me wonder what exactly our relationship was in that past life.”

“What do you mean? He told us we were close friends.”

“Yeah, but sometimes I get these moments when something seems to click into place and then it’s gone. I got that feeling while I was talking to him on the phone. Weird...and I don’t like weird.”

******

Hyperion

******

It didn’t take Blair long to figure out Don’s problem, too much stress and no belief in the procedure. He started the new Sentinel on a regiment of meditation on an empty stomach. In addition he put Don on a liquid only diet of herbal teas and high protein shakes made with almond milk. He warned Don that it would take a few days for the regiment to kick in but once it did it would be a short matter of time before he could picture his dials and regain control of his senses.

Don was not happy in fact he was in full on resistance mode. Xander asked him if his life was worth giving up his dad’s casseroles for a few days. Don grumbled, Xander argued back. The whole back and forth went on for about about fifteen minutes with Don complaining there must be another way, when Xander began to smile.

“You’re just like Charlie,” Don said in frustration. “You think my problems are funny.”

“I’m not laughing,” Xander said. “I’m smiling. I just realized that this is the first time that you and I have had a brotherly argument.”

“Well I’m the older brother. So I win,” Don said, unimpressed by Xander’s brotherly warmth. “I’m not going to spend weeks on tea and milkshakes.”

Xander stood up and looked down on his brother who sat with arms crossed, glaring back. “You are going to do it because it’s your only chance to live.”

“You don’t know that. I don’t want this Sentinel thing, not any of it. I wanted to find you so I could put all the pain of losing you behind me and move on with my life. What I want is to find a woman, get married and have a family. I want to be an FBI agent, I don’t want to save the world from demons. No offense Xander, but that’s you, it’s not me.”

“Here’s a hard truth big brother; what you want is irrelevant! Being a Sentinel is the hand you’ve been dealt. You play it or you die. So here’s your choice; you go on the regimen that Blair laid out for you and learn to control your dials or pack it up and leave the Hyperion. If you leave, I suggest you go live with Charlie and Alan. At least then when you slip into a coma they’ll get you to a hospital. Maybe they can keep you alive for a few extra months.” Xander left the room and went to Spike.

******

“I gave him an ultimatum,” Xander told Spike. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did everything you could,” Spike told his Guide as he held him close. “You can’t save a person from himself. He’ll do what he needs to do or not.”

“I need you,” Xander whispered.

Spike took Xander to their room. They laid on the bed and Spike held his Guide and purred while stroking his fingers through Xander’s hair giving what comfort he could to the man he loved.

******

Don didn’t believe that becoming a Sentinel would kill him. He told himself that this Sentinel thing came out of nowhere and it would go back there. All he had to do was ignore it and it would just go away. He went to his room and began packing his bag when he heard a soft knock on his door. “Go away, Xander, I’ve made up my mind.”

“It’s Wesley, may I come in?”

Don went to the door. “Look, I’m leaving. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”

“I just want to know why? Xander’s torn up about this. You know he’s going to blame himself for not being able to save you.”

“I don’t believe I need saving. Xander will get over it as soon as he sees all these symptoms go away. Charlie and I have had plenty of fights, some worse than this, we always make up.”

“So you don’t believe this can kill you?” Wesley asked.

Don walked away from the door and went back to packing his suitcase. “I’m fine. The sensory spikes are just about gone. The zone outs will run their course too. I’ll move in with my dad until they’re gone.”

“You don’t know this, but it’s been getting harder and harder to bring you out of the zone outs. Xander didn’t want to scare you. I know that this regimen that Blair wants to put you on won’t be easy, but we tried everything else we could think of. I believe that Spike was telling you the truth. If you don’t get yourself under control you’ll slip into a zone coma and die.”

“You were a lot worse off than I am and it didn’t kill you.”

“It came too close for comfort,” Wesley told him. “I was hours away from breaking.”

“By breaking, you mean dying?” Don asked.

Wesley didn’t want to lie. He needed Don to trust him and to know that he would always be honest with him. “I was hours from going insane. Most likely it would have fallen to Angel to put me down.”

Don stood staring at Wesley. He never let himself believe that becoming a Sentinel could send him insane or kill him. Yet Wesley was here telling him just that. It suddenly hit him in a way that Xander or Spike’s words hadn’t. They were family. Their feelings were colored and exaggerated by love. Wesley was an acquaintance, he could look at the situation clearly and he had no reason to exaggerate or lie. He certainly wasn’t pulling his punches either. Don sat on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

“I…” Don exhaled and tried to get his thoughts in order. “Do you think I can do this? I mean going on a liquid diet...I don’t understand how that can help.”

“It will increase your sixth sense and make it easier for you to picture your dials. Blair knows what he’s doing. When I was learning to do magic I had to go on a liquid diet. All I can tell you is that it works.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. I’ve never had any sixth sense so how can that damn diet increase it?”

“You’re a Sentinel now. Maybe you never noticed a sixth sense before but it has woken up inside of you now and you need to learn how to use it. Xander and Blair are only trying to help, but you have to help yourself too. You don’t seem to me to be the type of man that runs away from something you fear. So ask yourself, is leaving now motivated by fear?”

Don looked into himself. What Wesley said rang true. He was running away because of fear. He didn’t want to hurt Xander or let him down, but running...He remembered Xander's words, ‘Here’s a hard truth older brother; what you want is irrelevant! Being a Sentinel is the hand you’ve been dealt. You play it or you die.’ Was he running from the truth of his life? Both Xander and Wesley thought so. Suddenly things became clear. “Thanks Wesley, Xander was telling me the same thing. He knew, I’m not the type to run from a problem. I didn’t understand why he gave me the ultimatum, now I do.” Don said. “I’ll go on Blair’s diet. I hope I can make it work. I’ve always been a pretty pragmatic person. I guess I need to learn to be more open minded.”

Wesley laid his hand on Don’s shoulder. “We’re not going to give up on you. Don’t give up on us.”

Don nodded and sighed. He stood up and began taking his clothes out of the suitcase.

 

******

Three days had gone by when Don had his first small breakthrough. It brought a real solid hope to Xander and Spike. Spike celebrated by going out on patrol with the Slayers, Angel, and Jim, to burn off the last of his anxiety. The change in the atmosphere of the Hyperion was immediate. Slayers were laughing and joking again, Cordy had returned to her snarky snap backs, and Wesley was back in his office doing his research. The next morning a Slayer asked Spike to work out with her. Spike really didn’t have much else to do, so he agreed.

******

Jim’s felt adrift, he really had no responsibilities to keep him occupied in L.A.. Angel and Spike encouraged him to go out patrolling with the Slayers at night. Jim didn’t mind hunting down demons, but it put him on a different time table than Blair. Blair was kept very busy keeping Don on track and as far as Jim was concerned that was fine. The sooner Don got it together the sooner they could get back to Cascade.

But now he had had a talk with Wesley that came out of left field. Wesley had told him that Blair had magical aptitude. He wanted to train Blair to become a Wizard… A Wizard… his Guide… he had gone as far as he was willing to go with the metaphysical stuff. This was a line in the sand. Meditation and animal spirit guides were one thing but Wizard was a step too far. Jim tried to be polite, and to his credit, he was more or less successful. He told Wesley that they were too busy being detectives in Cascade for Blair to take on anything else.

Wesley wasn’t fooled, he knew that the offer was not one that Jim would give any serious consideration to. He did all he could on the matter so he just put it behind him and moved on. He knew that if The Powers wanted Blair to become a wizard, and he had a sneaking suspicion that they did, they would find a way to make it happen.

Jim did not find the matter so easily put behind him. He went into the workout room to take his anger, and disgust out on a punching bag. Spike was on the fighting mat with one of the Slayers. Jim knew just how strong, fast, and what accomplished fighters the Slayers were, but Spike was holding his own with this one. He had no idea that Spike was that good, it had never occurred to him to think about it. He forgot about his plan to punch out the bag and watched Spike fight.

The fight slid into slow motion as Jim watched every spin, kick, and punch Spike made. Jim’s practiced eye could see Spike pulling his punches and kicks. They were gauged to hurt but not injure. The Slayer learned fast. Each time Spike connected the Slayer corrected. She didn’t make the same mistake twice. And then it happened. Spike slowed, imperceptible to anyone but a Sentinel and a Slayer, he dropped his guard and the Slayer spun and kicked out hard. Jim heard her foot make contact, he heard Spike’s rib snap and the whoosh as Spike’s breath was knocked out of him. Spike staggered backward and fell on his back in surrender.

Jim rushed to Spike and bent down beside him. “What the hell did you do that for?” he demanded as he began to unbutton Spike’s shirt.

“Hey,” the Slayer complained. “I got him fair and square.”

Jim looked up at her and growled, then he went back to taking off Spike’s shirt. “He dropped his guard on purpose.”

“Yeah, and I picked up on it didn’t I? So my win!”

“That’s right Slayer, your win. Go get Blair,” Spike told her. She ran from the room.

“Jim,” Spike whispered, “I’m okay.” Spike didn’t try to sit up, he could see that Jim was in Blessed Protector mode.

“I heard the crack, I’m pretty sure the rib is broken,” Jim said as he ran his hand over Spike’s chest and across the hot spot where the Slayer’s kick had landed. “It’s broken, I can feel it. You need to be careful or the rib could move and puncture your lung.”

Blair and Xander came rushing into the room. Blair went to Jim and Xander knelt down next to Spike across from Jim. Both Guides could immediately see that Jim’s eyes were fully dilated.

“Xan,” Jim said in a tone he had never used to the one eyed Guide before. “His rib is broken. If he sits up it could move and do some real damage. We need to get a stretcher and take him to the nest.”

Xander was a bit confused by Jim’s feelings toward him. Jim had always treated him with a professional manner. He had never called him Xan before and the emotion that the empath picked up was deeply personal and very warm. Close to the way Spike felt about him, not quite the same but close.

“Don’t let him sit up, Xan” Jim said. “I’ll find something we can use as a stretcher.”

Blair had his hand on Jim’s arm and he gave it a squeeze. “Jim, what nest? What are you talking about?”

“Our nest. I don’t think we need to go to the Guide Hospital. Spike will be fine in the morning as long as we keep him still.”

“Jim, where are we?” Blair asked as he slid his hand up and down Jim’s arm trying to give the Sentinel the sense of touch to anchor on.

Jim looked into Blair’s eyes. Blair watched as Jim’s pupils returned to normal. “Blair, a Slayer broke one of Spike’s ribs. I’m worried that it could pierce his lung. We need a stretcher to take him to his room.”

“I know you told me that already,” Blair said. “Do you know where we are Jim?”

“We’re in the Hyperion, in L.A.” Jim said. “I think I had one of those moments I told you about.”

Wesley came into the room with a gurney. “What’s going on, Amy said she took out Spike and you said he needs a stretcher. How bad is it?”

“Just a cracked rib,” Spike said “Everyone should stop making such a fuss.”

“Not cracked, broken,” Jim said. “Let’s get him on the gurney.”

@@@@@@

“Do you mind telling me what this is all about?” Blair asked as they walked down the hall away from Spike’s room.

Jim had been adamant about seeing Spike to his room and that he was, in Jim’s view, properly taken care of. He insisted that Spike have water nearby and made Xander promise to feed Spike in bed. The whole thing had been surreal to everyone accept Spike. He took it in stride as if it were perfectly reasonable for Jim to ask if Spike needed anymore pillows. And the way he called Xander, Xanman and stroked his hair.

That got a reaction from Xander. He looked at Spike who reached out and took Xander’s hand. “It’s okay Xan,” Spike said with a smile. “I think the Powers just zapped the pompous ass out of Jim.” And Jim just laughed... Jim laughed. True it wasn’t much of a laugh, it was somewhere between a humph and a chuckle, but Blair saw a definite little curve to the corners of Jim’s mouth along with a wave of warmth.

Blair could feel that something had changed… no, not something, Jim’s attitude had changed, big time. He wasn’t resistant to Spike and Xander anymore he was embracing them.

“I told you, I had one of those weird episodes again. This time it stuck, I can still feel it. I know what Spike means, when he says we are close friends in that other life. We’re linked somehow. I don’t know how to put it into words, but it’s there. That’s why you feel such a close friendship to Xander.”

“Okay, so does this mean that you accept that they’ve been sent to us for a reason?” Blair asked. His close friendship to Xander had grown while they’ve been in L.A. together and as far as a link went, he had felt as if they had a link since the first day they met.

“Something bad is building, Blair, I can feel it coming. We need to do everything we can to stop it. It’s dark and deeply cold, the opposite of Guides. It wants to kill you Blair. You and all Guides. Empaths are its enemy.”

“So what are we going to do about it?”

“First thing we’re going to do is take an extended leave from Cascade PD,” Jim said as he walked down the stairs and headed for Wesley’s office. “Then you’re going to start training as a Wizard.” Jim stood outside Wesley’s office and knocked at his door.

“Me? A Wizard?” Blair asked surprised.

@@@@@@

Three Weeks Later

@@@@@@

Blair was doing very well with his Wizard training. Wesley had thought that the training would be quite a bit harder for the bubbly young man, but underneath it all Blair had a well disciplined, focused, and flexible mind. Wesley had thought that Blair would make an adequate Wizard but now he was sure that he would go far beyond merely adequate. Blair had the potential to become a very accomplished Wizard on par with Rupert and himself. A potential that Wesley was sure that Blair would take advantage of.

Don was back on solid food and able to picture his dials and control them, but he was still having zone outs and that concerned him. Xander told him they would not end until he found a Guide. Everyone put their heads together and looked at everyone that Don knew, both men and women. Spike and Jim went to sniff them out to see if any were Guides. When Don realized that the Sentinels were considering male Guides he balked saying he wasn’t gay. To which Spike, Jim, Xander, and Blair, all said simultaneously, “Neither am I.”

After an ultimatum from Don that he would only accept a female Guide. Spike finally took the situation into his hands and told Don…”You don’t always get the Guide you want, you get the Guide you need. Sentinels and Guides are bisexual. We get locked in when we bond.”

“I was married before I met Blair,” Jim said. “It came as a surprise to me when I was attracted to him. I don’t feel that way about any other men. I was a conservative, straight laced, police detective and Blair was a free spirit, long haired, liberal. I fell in love anyway.”

“I think we need some help finding a Guide for Don,” Wesley said. “Maybe we should contact Incacha, perhaps he can point us in the right direction.”

“We can do that tonight,” Blair said.

******

Evening

******

Blair lit a large, white, cedar-wood scented candle, and took his place in a circle of Sentinels and Guides sitting cross legged on the floor around the candle. It was decided that Blair would lead the meditation with Jim, Don, Xander, Spike, Wesley, and Fred, making up the rest of the participants. The group held hands and began their rhythmic breathing. As the group slipped into a light trance Blair began his chant to call Incacha.

Soon the walls of the Hyperion disappeared and were replaced by the stone walls of the ancient Sentinel Temple. Incacha stood in the center of the large room. He wore native dress of a long, brightly colored, woven loincloth, and a crown of brightly colored feathers. His muscled chest glistened with perspiration in the jungle heat and his long, straight, black hair hung down his back reflecting the flickering light from the fires that burned in the braziers occupying each corner of the room. In his hand he held a decorated staff with a rattle made of sea shells.

Incacha lifted the staff and brought it down on the stone floor. “Guide, why have you called me?”

“Incacha, we ask for your wisdom. We have a new Sentinel in our world. We have searched for a Guide, but none have shone themselves to us. We ask that a Guide for Sentinel Eppes be sent to us.”

“One that is suitable to become a Guide sits in the circle of the Red Witch that serves Yellow Eyes,” Incacha said. “It is the Sentinel that must go to the Guide. The Guide can not be sent to the Sentinel. What you ask can not be done.” Incacha once again lifted his staff and brought it down with a hard clack on the stone floor.

Everyone came out of their trance at the strike of wood on stone. Blair stood up and put out the candle, Wesley went to turn on the lights as the others stood up and stretched.

“Wow, that was surreal. I felt like I was really there, wherever there was,” Don said.

“You were there,” Blair said. “You just had an out of body experience.”

Don had a hard time wrapping his head around that so he decided to put it behind him and get back on subject. “The Red Witch is Willow isn’t it?” Don asked. “But who’s Yellow Eyes?”

“That would be me.” Spike said. “The Guide must be someone in Willow’s coven. I think I’m seeing a pattern. One or both of the Sentinel/Guide pairs in this reality are magic wielders. We’ve been looking in the wrong place.”

“It makes sense,” Wesley said. “We’re going into a war against demons. Many of them use magic. We need to use it too or we won’t have a chance against them.”

“Okay,” Don said. “I guess I can live with being bond mate to a witch under those circumstances, at least it’s a woman, but what if she doesn’t want to come to L.A.?”

“First we have to go to Cleveland,” Xander said. “Incacha said the Sentinel has to go to the Guide.”

“I hope she will relocate to L.A., I’ve wanted to establish a coven here for awhile.” Wesley added.

“I’m assuming that we’re going to Cleveland as soon as possible?” Don asked wanting to stay on the subject of meeting his Guide.

“Cleveland is too close to a Hellmouth for me to risk opening a portal for anything but an emergancy. The energy flows could cause all kinds of bad things to happen. You’re going to have to fly,” Fred informed the group.

Xander exhaled. “I’ll call and see how soon we can get tickets. Don why don’t you call Dad. He’s been asking me when he can meet Giles. This might be a good time for a family trip.”

******  
TBC Please comment.


	13. Chapter 13

@@@@@@

Eppes’ Home

******

“Hey, Dad,” Charlie called when he walked in the door. “What’s with the suitcase?”

Alan came out of the kitchen wiping his hands on a dish towel. “Don called, he’s going to Cleveland. It seems some spirit from the beyond told him his Guide is in a coven there.”

“Let me get this straight, Dad. A ghost told Don to go to Cleveland and find a Witch Guide?”

“I’m not sure that Xander would agree with your interpretation, but yeah, you got it.” Alan told him with a shrug.

“I’m going too,” Charlie said as he took out his cell phone to let Millie know that he would be away for a few days on a family emergency. Of course it wasn't a true emergency, but in Charlie's mind it was close enough.

Charlie had been very accepting of his new brother’s work and life style, but now Xander had Don pursuing the recommendation of a so called ghost. Don had said that demons were real, and he did meet Angel and Lorne, but a flesh and blood, sentient, being is one thing, a ghost and a witch are quite another thing altogether. He couldn’t understand how his brother was going along with this. He planned to have a talk with him on the plane.

@@@@@@

Veronica Mars

@@@@@@

Veronica finished brushing her hair and sighed as she left the bathroom. She picked up her phone to check the weather report.

******

Veronica had grown up in Sunny Southern California in a town called Neptune. Neptune was a town of opposites. A town half populated by the ultra rich and half by people that worked for the ultra rich. Veronica called it the town without a middle class. Now she was living, as a Witch, in a not so sunny Cleveland, Ohio, over a Hellmouth. She had planned to go to college but the cosmos had other ideas.

Her childhood had been a roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs. Veronica’s mom disappeared suddenly when she was five years old. Like any child, she blamed herself. If only she were more lovable, if only she were prettier, if only she had been a better daughter, if only, if only, there were hundreds of ‘if onlys’ in the little girl’s mind. Veronica’s father did his best, but being sheriff had its problems. When Veronica was eight years old her father was wounded in the line of duty. Keith Mars called Veronica’s maternal grandparents to take care of her for the two days he spent in the hospital. They didn’t want to give their granddaughter back and tried to convince Keith that Veronica would be better off with them. The job of Sheriff was far too dangerous for a single parent, this incident proved it. When their argument failed they filed for custody. Her dad tried to protect Veronica from the emotional stress, but it was impossible to completely shield her. In the end he won the case and Veronica was able to stay with her dad in Neptune, but the little girl never lost that feeling that she could lose her dad and be alone at any moment.

Years later Sheriff Mars was attacked and wounded in what he told everyone was a knife fight, but it wasn’t a human being that attacked him with a knife. It was something altogether different, a brick red bipedal being with claws. His life was saved by a young girl named Buffy who had tracked, what she called a demon, from the neighboring town of Sunnydale. She got the sheriff to the Neptune emergency room and called an Englishman named Rupert Giles. Giles told the sheriff the importance of keeping the whole thing quiet. Questions were asked and answered about the world Giles lived in, but in the end it wasn’t a hard sell, telling people that he was attacked by an urban Bigfoot would only get him declared insane.

Just before Veronica’s junior year of high school her best friend, Lily was murdered. Sheriff Mars accused the wrong man, Lily’s billionaire father, of the murder. He lost his job as sheriff and Veronica lost her friends in the in crowd. Her Dad started a private investigation agency and together he and Veronica struggled to make a living.

Veronica never stopped looking for Lily’s murderer. She couldn’t let it go, Lily was her best friend. She couldn’t bring herself to turn her back on her just because she was dead. She began having dreams and what she called intuitions. At first she resisted following them and kept to the investigative skills her father had taught her, but soon, like her father, she came to a dead end. Finally she thought, *What do I have to lose?* and followed her intuitions. They proved to be true and led her to Lily’s boyfriend's father Aaron Echolls. Veronica had snuck into the Echolls home looking for evidence, a set of covert videos Aaron had taken while having sex with Lily and other women. When Mr. Echolls found Veronica snooping around his home he attacked. She would have been killed, but something strange happened, when she tried to push Echolls away there was a flash of light and he flew through the air, catapulted away from her. Veronica was able to escape.

And that was the way it started, how the magic awoke in her. The energy ripple of the birth of a witch was felt in the magical world, not the least by Willow only a few miles away in Sunnydale. Willow knew there were many demons in Sunnydale that would want a taste of a new untrained and unprotected witch, she knew from experience how easy it would be for her to fall into darkness. It wasn’t difficult to find Veronica. A simple locator spell was all it took. Giles, not truly surprised that the new witch was the daughter of the sheriff he met just a few years ago, talked to Keith Mars and explained the situation. Veronica was whisked off to England to be trained by the Watchers Council to become a White Witch.

While in London, Veronica started having dreams again, dreams that told her it was important to go home to her father. Three days before the bombing of the Watchers Council building in London, Veronica returned home for a visit. She would have been in that building if she hadn’t acted on her dreams and her demanding intuitions.

Veronica’s father decided that Veronica had learned all she was going to from the Watchers Council. Giles had assured him she would be safe. He didn’t expect terrorists to be blowing up the Council’s buildings, and besides Veronica couldn’t reach a single soul from the Watchers Council in London so she stayed in Neptune helping her father with his private investigation agency. Four months after Sunnydale fell into a sinkhole Willow contacted Veronica and together they started a coven and a new Watchers Council in Cleveland.

Veronica had learned a lot since coming to Cleveland, things she wished she hadn’t had to learn. She learned there’s a whole metaphysical underworld that most people don’t know exists, an underworld that kills. Veronica knows it, all too well. Since coming to the Hellmouth she had ‘seen’ in her dreams three attempted openings. That’s how she found out that she wasn’t only a witch, but also a Seer.

Giles and Willow knew that every Seer had a protector as a partner. Veronica had hoped it was Logan Echolls. They had grown close during their Senior year in high school. He had joined the Navy after graduation trying to get himself and his life under control. But her hopes were crushed when his ship collided with a container ship while coming into port. Logan died, trapped in his bunk. The loss tore Veronica apart, but Veronica was a very practical woman, she knew she had to move on, so in spite of her grief she meditated on accepting a strange male Protector, an answer was given. *You’re not going to be forced, you’re going to want to accept him.* Gradually her grief diminished and with the support of the coven she recovered from her loss.

The search for her Protector began, all avenues were pursued, but the only answer they got was that her Protector would appear when both were ready, so they thanked the powers and waited.

******

Veronica put on her coat and locked her door as she left her apartment. She had been having dreams lately. Last night Logan came to her. He was indescribably handsome in dress white Navy uniform, Veronica’s heart beat faster. She wanted to hold him and she wanted him to hold her. Instead he told her it wasn’t their time. He gave her his blessing to bond with the Sentinel. Veronica had heard about Sentinels. Willow had explained that they were new to this reality, but Veronica knew very little about them. It seemed she would find out exactly what a Sentinel was very soon.

Giles didn’t know that she already knew her Protector was coming to Cleveland today. In many ways this was not a done deal, they both had a choice. She wondered if he had as much apprehension with this as she had. After all she was not just a Witch and a Seer. She was a strong and independent woman and she was not going to become submissive to a man.

@@@@@@

Slayer House  
Cleveland

@@@@@@

When Veronica got to the Slayer House she headed for Giles office. Everyone had told her that as a Seer she needed a Protector. Why had Logan told her that a Sentinel was coming today. She wanted answers and she was going to get them.

When she got to Giles office Willow was there discussing a plan for the day. Spike and Xander were expected to get to the Slayer House by 6:30 that evening. It was decided that they would pick up the Eppes from the hotel and go out for dinner to give Don and Veronica a chance to meet in a non-stressful environment. Veronica was fine with that. She certainly didn’t want to be put in a situation where she was alone with the strange Sentinel right away. Then she asked the question that was burning in her mind.

“Logan visited me last night,” she said. “He gave me his blessing to bond with a Sentinel. Everyone has told me I need a Protector, but now suddenly I’m expected to bond with a Sentinel?”

“No one is going to force you,” Willow told her. “Incacha said that when a compatible Sentinel and Guide meet they will want to bond with each other.”

“That’s the other thing, I’m a Witch and a Seer, I’m not a Guide. What I need is a Protector. I don’t know anything about being a Guide. Where the hell am I supposed guide him to, anyway?”

“As I understand it,” Giles said, “a Guide’s empathy is what a Sentinel needs to keep from…” Giles stopped to clear his throat and consider what needed to be said.

Willow stepped in. “Incacha has been teaching me a lot about Sentinels and Guides. All Guides are strong empaths. They are born that way. Sometimes through experience or need some abilities develop. Like hazard detection or your seer abilities. It’s different for a Sentinel. He is born with a Sentinel gene but it is dormant and needs to be turned on. For centuries in our reality it’s remained dormant, now it’s beginning to turn on in some men. If it does turn on it generally triggers after puberty. When that happens a Sentinel lays down new mental pathways. It’s very stressful for them and they can have zone outs or sensory spikes. They need to learn control but in highly stressful situations that’s hard. There is something about an empath that calms a Sentinel, the bond gives him control. It keeps his new mental pathways from running amok and eventually either killing him or turning him into a megalomaniac who wants to kill everyone.”

“Okay I can see where a Sentinel needs a Guide, but I’m not known for being miss sweet and cuddly,” Veronica said, “so what makes you think I’d make a good Guide? Because I’m nobodies patsy.”

“Whether you know it or not, Veronica,” Giles told her, “you are a strong empath. When someone asks for your help, you give it. When have you ever turned down anyone that was an innocent in peril?”

Veronica thought back to her days in high school. It was true, she never turned her back on anyone neither the rich like Logan or the biker Wivel, she even busted a stolen dog ring when a fellow student asked her to help find her missing dog. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But what about this bond thing? I heard whisperings that Spike *Claimed* Xander. Is this bond thing like being Claimed by a vampire? Because if it is, I’m out of here.”

“I took a close look at Xander and Spike after Spike told me he Claimed Xander,” Giles told her. “This bond that they have looks, in every way I can see, like a true partnership. I can’t judge how much of that is because Spike and Xander truly love each other. But Spike has told me that a Sentinel Claiming a Guide is more of a message to other Sentinels that this Guide is unavailable.”

“So tell me about the bond,” Veronica said. “What exactly is it?”

“You should talk to Fred or Blair about that,” Willow said. “They’re both on the west coast so it’s a bit early to call either of them. We can call them around eleven our time.”

“I think I’d feel more comfortable talking to another woman about this,” Veronica said. “Maybe Blair would be a better choice. Does she live at the Hyperion too?”

“Ahhh… Blair is a guy. Fred’s a woman. Fred’s short for Winifred. She’s only been a Guide for a little over a month now. But I know she’s a great person to talk to and she’ll help you as much as she can. So will Blair if you decide to talk to him. Blair lives in Cascade, Washington, but is staying at the Hyperion while he trains to be a wizard.”

******

Veronica had been on the phone talking to Fred all afternoon. Fred was filling her in on what to expect from a bond with a Sentinel. Not that there was much for her to say. The circumstances of Fred bonding with Wesley were very different. But she did her best to encourage Veronica and inform her.

Veronica listened, this thing about some kind of energy burst when a Sentinel and compatible Guide touch made her feel sort of skittish. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “What kind of energy is it?” Veronica asked.

“I’m just guessing,” Fred said, “but I think it’s a life force energy exchange. The Sentinel feels it to and it’s very pleasant. I don’t feel depleted by it and Wesley’s never said anything negative about its effect.”

“So do you think it is part of the bond?”

“I never analyzed it, but it is still very pleasant to be touched by Wesley. I did ask Blair how long it would keep happening, Blair’s Jim’s Guide. He said he would let me know when it stopped. They’ve been together for over two years. But the bond is more than an energy exchange. It’s really hard to put into words and Spike said everyone is a little different, but it’s like you not only become more linked into each other but you become more conscience of your place in the universe. It’s kind of humbling but at the same time you know that your important too, that the choices you make and the actions you take have real consequences. But you’re not alone. You feel so much a part of everything. I guess you just have to feel it to understand.”

“So are you telling me that the bond is not to just one Sentinel?”

“There’s an ancient metaphysical power for good and you become a citizen of that community. But we’re already a part of the universe, so for me, I become more aware of it. My Sentinel gives me a safe place to be. He’s my rock and I’m his. Like I said it’s hard to put into words.”

Veronica had her doubts about meeting Sentinel Don Eppes. Especially because of her history with men. It just never seemed to work out. Veronica always blamed it on her independence and if she was honest with herself. She was judgmental and trust came hard to her. The thought of meeting a stranger, bonding with him for the rest of her life, somehow becoming a citizen of an ancient community, and adopting a new lifestyle seemed like a lot to ask. Maybe it was fate for her to be here in Cleveland at this time. If things had worked out with one of her other boyfriends she would probably be a happily married woman with at least one child by now. That made her think of Logan. She did fall in love with him, but she had trouble trusting him, or anyone for that matter. Her young life was too much of a roller coaster ride for her to believe in happily ever after. She wondered if she would ever come to trust Don. In the end the only thing to do was to meet the Sentinel and see how things went.

******

Don was glad to get off the plane and to no longer be trapped in a seat beside Charlie. The conversation had started amicably enough, but Charlie didn’t understand what it was like to suddenly find yourself thrust into a world of Grimm’s fairy tales, find out that that world was real and very dangerous, a world that was, in fact, looking to commit mass genocide on the human race.

Charlie was concerned about his FBI agent brother. He was from a world of mathematicians, scientists, and academics, not known for their imaginative thinking. Scientifically provable facts were the bedrock of Charlie’s existence, not this metaphysical hocus-pocus that suddenly seemed to be directing Don’s life.

Don tried to explain that things had changed. He had changed. He needed a Guide, it wasn’t an option and everyone agreed he would be safer with a magic user, besides they had tried to find a *normal* person to be his Guide and had been dramatically unsuccessful. All of Don’s arguments fell on deaf ears. Charlie was hung up on the witch part of the whole scenario, that and the fact that a ghost had told them about the witch.

Again Don patiently explained that Incacha was not a ghost he was a Spirit Guide and could only be reached through meditation or in dream sleep, he didn’t haunt anyone. The difference was lost on Charlie.

Don had to accept that before finding Xander he would have thought that anyone telling him demons, witches, and spirit guides, were real needed some serious medications. But things were different now. The world had shifted and he had shifted with it. Don could feel himself stressing out. It hurt him to do it but he had no choice, he told Charlie that the conversation had to end or he was going to switch seats with Spike. That shut Charlie up. He gave Don the silent treatment for the rest of the flight.

As soon as they got off the plane Alan knew that something had gone on between his sons and so did Xander. Xander immediately went to Don to draw off the tension the new Sentinel was feeling. Alan went to Charlie and read him the riot act, or as close to the riot act as he could get in a public airport.

“This is Don’s life now,” Alan told his youngest son. “If you can’t support him then the least you can do, is accept him and what he’s become.”

“What he’s become?” Charlie asked. “Listen to yourself Dad. This is Don we’re talking about. The FBI agent who they are trying to marry off to some woman who thinks she’s a witch. You expect me to accept that and support it? This stranger comes into our life and turns it upside down and you dive into all the craziness. I accepted it because I could see how much it meant to you. But the whole point of finding Xander was to set you and Don free of the loss and guilt so Don could get on with his life, not to entrap you in...whatever the hell this is.”

“That stranger is my SON! Just as much as you are. If that’s how you felt you shouldn’t have come.” Alan said thinking he was far enough away to keep the Sentinel’s from hearing the conversation.

Spike was only a few feet away and watching Xander closely. He was still talking to Don, stabilizing him and Don’s concentration was on Xander’s voice. As for the father/son, conversation, Spike heard every word.

******

Alan, Charlie, and Don, opted to stay at a local business class hotel. Don would need a private place to bond if things worked out for the new Sentinel. Giles offered rooms at the Slayer House to Alan and Charlie, but in the interest of full disclosure told them that they may get the cold shoulder, along with disapproving looks due to the necessity of turning one of the bathrooms into a men’s room during their visit. Alan didn’t want to put anyone out and Charlie...well Charlie being Charlie politely but firmly declined the offer. He really, really didn’t want anyone with the title of Slayer even mildly pissed off at him. The group split up at the airport. Alan, Charlie, and Don took a taxi to the hotel and Xander and Spike went directly to the Slayer house.

******

The taxi drove up to the front door of The Cleveland School for Girls, also known to those in the know as The Slayers House. Spike had insisted that the group take taxis from the airport explaining that he didn’t want to subject anyone to a Slayer’s driving. When Spike and Xander got to the Slayer House several Slayers ran out the door and grabbed Xander in a group hug.

“We’ve missed you,” Susie told him. “You’re going to be here for awhile aren’t you? I mean you’ll be able to fix all the broken stuff before you leave again.”

“Whoa Slayer,” Spike said. “Give him a chance to get unpacked and have some breakfast before you start asking him to fix things.”

“Breakfast, what are you talking about? It’s evening, breakfast isn’t until tomorrow morning.”

“I think that was the point; I’m not accepting any work orders until after breakfast,” Xander said as he disentangled himself from the hugs and headed for the front door.

******

The group decided to take two cars to the restaurant. Giles would pick up the Eppes and Spike would drive the second car along with Xander, Willow, and Veronica.

Veronica wasn’t about to let the opportunity to talk to Spike pass. “Spike, do you know why the Sentinels are waking up in our reality now?”

Spike wondered how he had come to be the go to person for answers to all these questions. He wasn’t particularly comfortable with it, but it seemed the Powers had other ideas. He took a deep breath and began to talk as he drove through the moonlit Cleveland streets. “When Willow used the slayer weapon to bring all the slayers online she let a lot of new energy into our reality. The women that made the weapon believed that to win against evil you had to bring light to the darkness. That’s how they made Sentinels. In this reality all that energy was held in the Slayer Weapon, now it’s been released and it is not only bringing slayers online it’s bringing Sentinel’s online too. We were all vampires in a past life. I think we come from many other realities. The women who make the Slayer Weapon gave vampires light and the desire to protect rather then to kill. The women were the first Guides. Beacon, a Cosmic Intervention Supervisor, told me that Sentinels go through many lifetimes evolving further from their vampire past with each life. I don’t know how many lives a Sentinel goes through to get to this reality, but I do know it’s not the first level. I was also told that when Willow released the energy from the Slayer Weapon this reality was thrown out of balance and the Powers that be don’t want to lose it to the darkness. Sentinels are needed to help bring it back into balance.”

“But this is your first level,” Veronica said. “So are you an exception?”

“This isn’t my first level,” Spike told her. “I’m living in and have memories of another Sentinel life and I signed a contract to get my soul back in an alternate reality Sunnydale. I don’t know how many lives I’ve lived as Spike.”

“Really?” Willow asked. “You got your soul back in another reality just by asking for it?”

“No, I had to do a bunch of good deeds to call it back, and I had to fight the demon trials in this reality, then I signed the contract. Beacon said it’s all interconnected. I can’t remember how I found out about the contract, but that was then and that life is not this one. I need to stay anchored in this life. My point of power for this life is in this present reality. Beacon told me that having memories was an exception to the rule. They were given to me so I could learn from them, But this is where my life is now.”

“Do you have any memories of me in the other life?” Veronica asked.

“No,” Spike told her. “But that doesn’t mean anything. A lot of my memories are cloudy and only clear up if I need them. It’s less confusing for me that way.”

“Here’s the restaurant,” Xander said. “The rest of this conversation will have to wait for another day.”

******

Restaurant

******

Veronica sat at the table between Don, on her right, and Willow, on her left. Charlie had tried to take the seat on her left but Willow had quietly cast a spell to keep him from being able to pull out the chair. Willow could feel the negative energy coming off of Charlie and she wanted to protect Veronica from it as much as possible. Incacha had been schooling her on the importance of a Sentinel and Guide bond and she was determined to let this bond happen, or not, without any interference. Her gut told her that the couple had to find their own path.

Veronica liked the look of Don, she was glad he was handsome and came from a law enforcement background. It had a familiarity that she found comforting. Her empathic sense told her that Don was cut from the same cloth as her father. He was a good man that wanted to make sure he got his facts right. The kind of man that was tenacious in pursuit of the truth and willing to go wherever that truth led him. He was also a gentleman. He was willing to go slowly and let her set the pace, but under it all he wanted this to work out. There was a quiet desperation under his tight control and it made her like him even more. It would have been easy for him to push, but he didn’t.

Don thought Veronica was beautiful, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. He could spend a lifetime looking into those blue eyes. But what he liked about her even more was that she was strong. He knew all too well the kinds of things that law enforcement dealt with. He tried not to bring it home, but if he and Veronica bonded they would be working together on some pretty horrific stuff. He knew he would need someone strong as a partner. Don found himself truly wanting everything to work out between them.

It was Charlie’s voice that broke into his thoughts. “So tell me, Veronica, how is it you became a witch?” he asked as he sipped his water and made eye contact with her over the rim of his glass.

“Charlie, now isn’t the time or place for that.” Don said letting the edge of his annoyance show in his voice. What was his brother trying to do, sabotage this meeting? What he had done on the plane was bad enough, but now he was going to start up on Veronica.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Veronica said smiling at Don, than she turned her attention to Charlie. “My best friend, Lilly, was murdered between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I’d been having dreams and intuitions about things since I was quite young, but this time I followed them. I found the murderer and he was going to kill me. Somehow my self preservation kicked in and there was a magic surge that pushed him off of me and I was able to get away. Willow felt the ripple in the magic stream and her and Mr. Giles found me. They knew that I was too close to the Hellmouth to be safe so I trained to be a white witch in London, England.”

“So you didn’t train in Cleveland with Willow?” Charlie asked.

“This happened in Neptune.”

“Have you ever fought a demon?” Charlie asked.

“Now that’s enough,” Alan said. “We’re not here to give this lovely lady the third degree.” Alan looked at Veronica, “I apologize for my son’s behavior. I should have taught him better manners.”

“That’s quite alright, Mr. Eppes. I’m sure he meant no harm.” That last sentence was a bit of a white lie. Charlie didn’t exactly mean to do her harm, but he did mean to make her uncomfortable talking about things better left private.

Veronica turned and looked at Charlie, she put on her sweetest smile. “You didn’t mean any harm did you?” she asked. Charlie didn’t know that Veronica Mars didn’t take guff from anyone.

******


	14. Chapter 14

Don was glad to see that Veronica could hold her own against Charlie. Charlie was used to dealing with young people and bringing them around to his point of view. He’d been a very successful college professor for years so he had none of that *hide in the garage* mentality when it came to teaching and this was, in a way, what he was trying to do, teach Don how wrong he was to go along with any of the Watcher’s Council’s suggestions.

Charlie never broke eye contact with Veronica. Everyone at the table could see that the verbal fisticuffs was on between them. “I’m just curious. I am new to all this. I hope you don’t mind indulging a little brother’s curiosity.”

Giles gave a silent moan and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth ready to stop this tit-for-tat verbiage in its tracks. Spike reached for Giles under the table and gave his leg a squeeze. Veronica had to manage the Eppes family herself, if anyone came to her aid it should be Don, or she would never be comfortable choosing to bond with him. Giles glanced at Spike and Spike glared back with a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. Giles acquiesced to Spike’s judgment in this matter and stayed quiet.

“I am willing to satisfy your curiosity in a more private place,” Veronica said with a sweet smile but her eyes held a hard edge. “But a public restaurant simply isn’t the place for such discussions.” Veronica felt a wave of surprise go through Don, and then a wave of amusement. Don was amused that she was putting his brother on the spot. She felt no disapproval from him; just the opposite, he liked that she was standing up for herself.

“I agree, but with this caveat, ” Don said with a pointed look at his brother. “This is my life now. If you want to satisfy your curiosity do it with me.” Don turned to Veronica, “I know you're quite capable of holding your own with my brother, I just feel that this is about me and I should be the one to handle it.”

Veronica smiled at Don. “No offense taken, I knew you weren’t the type to hide behind a woman.”

Xander decided to change the subject. “Giles, did you know that Alan built his own craftsman style house and he has a successful building consultation firm. Maybe if we asked really nicely he’ll take a look at the school and give us a priority list of repairs.”

“I’ll be glad to help you out with that,” Alan said. “There’s nothing I like better than to talk about buildings. I heard that the school is an old mansion.”

Giles was more than grateful for the change of subject. “Yes, it is. The price and size was right and the grounds make the deal irresistible. It does however need some repairs.”

The conversations turned to more acceptable topics and everyone breath a sigh of relief. The rest of the dinner went smoothly.

******

The group waited for the valets to return with the cars. It was a cool clear night with a full moon shining brightly. Don thought *What the hell?* and turned to Veronica.

“It’s a beautiful night. Would you like to walk for awhile?” Don asked.

Veronica looked up at the moon and then smiled at Don. “Ordinarily I’d jump at the idea, but It’s not safe to walk in Cleveland at night and it’s especially not safe during a full moon. I seriously doubt that Mr. Giles or Xander would allow it. We could go back to the slayer house and take a walk around the grounds while your dad tours the mansion.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Don said, he found himself hoping that Veronica would say yes to being his Guide.

******

“We’re being followed,” Don said as the couple slowly strolled around the Slayer house.

“It’s the Slayer patrol,” Veronica told him with a smile. “The walls help keep the demons out but it’s really the Slayers they’re afraid of.”

“It’s not like this in L.A.,” Don said. “The Slayers patrol the worst parts of the city, but the demons don’t attack the Hyperion, at least no one seemed concerned about it and nothing like that happened while I was there.”

“Cleveland is a hellmouth. It makes the demons more aggressive. All of this must be pretty different for you. Most people would think it’s all some kind of an elaborate hoax.”

“At first, when I had just found Xander’s Interpol photo and got the DNA match, I couldn’t understand why Interpol was giving me such a run around. Now I know I must have set off alarm bells by asking about Agent Harris. But after Spike and Xander took me to the demon bar everything fell into place and I know this is real. I just didn’t expect to become a Sentinel.”

“Do you think it was fate?”

“I don’t think much about fate,” Don said with a scoff. “But for a time I was in aggressive denial. Xander told me that this is the hand I’ve been dealt; I either play it or I die. I didn’t believe him. It was Wesley that convinced me that I couldn’t just walk away. But enough about me, what about you? Do you think becoming a witch was fate?”

“I do think a lot about fate and the step by step process that brought me to this point and place in my life. I think fate is a liquid. You kind of get dumped into this lake. You can swim to the shore the Powers That Be want you to swim to, or swim to another shore. But if you swim away from what the Powers want, you end up back in the lake and you have to decide all over again where you’re going to swim to.”

Don chuckled. “Xander warned me about Cosmic Splinters. He said if you go against the grain of the cosmos you get Cosmic Splinters, he said they’re very painful and can be deadly.”

“Same thing, different metaphor. I grew up on the ocean, hence the water metaphor. Xander’s a handyman, hence the splinters.”

“I think you’re right about that.” Don told her with a chuckle. “My dad would definitely go with the Splinters metaphor too.”

The couple continued walking around the building in silence for a time, but the silence wasn’t awkward, it was oddly comforting. For Don it was the scent of the Guide beside him, he wasn’t sure of how to broach the subject, but he knew he should say what was on his mind.

“Veronica,” Don began with a thoughtful tone and cadence to his voice. “I told myself that I was going to stand back and give you space to make up your mind and I am going to do that. But I need you to know that my hope is that you’ll say yes to being my Guide.”

“Why?”

Don took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I wanted a woman Guide, but I also wanted a strong, and independent woman. I didn’t want to feel guilty about bringing someone unprepared into this life. You’re strong, the way you stood up to my brother, and you’re no stranger to law enforcement and the stress that comes with it. You’ve been tested in your life and you chose to learn from it not hide away. I don’t know much about magic, but you do and I’m told that I need a Guide with magical experience. Add to that that I like you, a lot, and feel comfortable with you… My dad told me that being comfortable is the key to a long term relationship. Well I hope you say yes.”

Veronica stopped near the front door. “Do you know we’ve walked around the house three times.”

“I wasn’t keeping count,” Don said as he stopped walking and turned to look at her in the moonlight, his heart seemed to tighten at the change of subject.

“Three is a mystical number. It has power. It has meaning that you said those things just as we were finishing our third time around. It wouldn't have the same energy to it if you had said it on our second or fourth time around. I’ve been thinking too about the man I’d be willing to bond with. It would have to be a man that treated me with respect and would accept me as a partner, and not just a convenience that keeps his senses in balance the way a refrigerator keeps your food cold. I’m an empath, I can feel that you’re that kind of man.”

Veronica held out her hand and Don took it. The energy exchange was instantaneous. A very pleasant feeling ran through both their bodies. “Wow,” they both said simultaneously then they laughed together, but neither of them let go of each other.

******

Don could hear his dad talking to someone down the hall as he and Veronica came into the house.

“I’d be willing to stay and oversee the repairs. This house has good bones, but I wouldn’t trust that furnace for another winter. I can make sure you get the best contractors and materials for the job, and I know how to negotiate for the best price. I know a good architect that will love the challenge of getting this house in shape.”

“That’s very generous of you Mr. Eppes,” Giles told him. “I certainly could use the help with this.”

“It’s not as generous as you may think. My consulting company is between jobs right now and frankly, I’ve been getting bored. Taking on a project like this is just what the doctor ordered.”

Giles turned to the couple standing in the hall. “Oh...Veronica...Don… You’re back,” Giles said with a glance at their clasped hands.

“We just came in to get Veronica’s bag and to let everyone know we’ve agreed to the bond,” Don said lifting their clasped hands, fingers intertwined.

Veronica was glad that Don said they had agreed together to the bond, not that she had agreed to become his Guide. One was a mutual agreement, the other to her seemed like a concession.

Spike and Xander came out of Giles’ office down the hall, followed by Charlie.

“Congratulations.” Xander said. “Spike and I will give you a ride back to the hotel when you’re ready.”

“Yes, Mazel Tov,” Alan said with a brilliant smile. He turned to Charlie with a pointed look.

“Mazel Tov,” Charlie said with a forced smile on his lips but worry in his eyes.

******

Epilogue  
15 months later  
Norfolk, Virginia

******

Xander had a huge smile on his face as he hung up the phone and turned to Spike. “That was Don. Long story short, Veronica is pregnant. Also Charlie asked Sarah to marry him and she said yes.”

“That’s wonderful,” Spike said as he encircled Xander in his arms. “Does your dad know yet?”

“Don called him before he called me. Dad’s finishing up the Slayer house in Cleveland; he’ll be back in L.A. in two weeks.”

“We need to stop in Cascade after we tie up all the loose ends here, then we’ll go to L.A. for a while and visit with your family before we go back to Cleveland. It would be nice to spend some time with them. It’s ironic that after all that mistrust from Charlie he ends up falling in love with a witch from Veronica’s coven.”

“Well, the universe does have a sense of humor,” Xander said. He was silent for a moment then he looked into his love’s eyes. “Spike, do you think Gibbs will be okay without us? I know he wasn’t as hard to convince about demons as Jim was; but do you really think he’s ready to go it alone?”

“We’ll get a few Slayers to come to D.C. before we go.”

“It’s not just Gibbs I’m concerned about,” Xander said. “His Guide is new, Shannon seems good, and it seemed like love at first sight…”

“They’re soul mates,” Spike said without any doubt in his voice. “She was murdered in an alternate universe life. They found each other in this life.”

Okay, I don’t know how you know that... but getting back on subject, Soul mate or not she’s inexperienced, and what if Tony’s Sentinel abilities come online before Gibbs has enough experience to deal with it?”

“Cleveland is only a phone call and an hour and a half flight away. Gibbs has to be on his own sometime. I get the impression that he feels that we’re more in the way than a help now, besides we need to get back to Cleveland. The Hellmouth’s been too quiet. That’s usually a quiet before a storm. I’d like to get settled in before we have to deal with an eruption.”

“Okay, okay, I give. We’ll do it your way.”

“The photos your dad sent of the remodeled Slayer House look great. He’s turned the place into a really comfortable home. We’re going to have our own bathroom.”

“Now you sound like a Slayer.”

“No, I’m just having some dirty thoughts about getting home and christening our new bedroom suite.”

Xander snuggled deeper into Spike’s arms. “Since when do we have to be home to have dirty thoughts? Besides, my home is wherever you are,”

Spike smiled and nuzzled Xander’s neck, “And don’t you forget it, Guide.”

“Never,” Xander said with a contented sigh. He closed his eyes and melted into Spike’s hug.

******

The End

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